William, Where Are You?
by buffyfaith19
Summary: William has been kidnapped. Scully and Reyes have to figure out who did it and why. What they uncover startles them both to the core. The truth about the aliens is finally discovered
1. William, Where Are You?

Title:William, Where Are You?  
  
Pairing: Scully/Reyes X-Files  
  
Rating: R..  
  
Summary: William has been kidnapped. Scully and Reyes have to figure out who did it and why. What they uncover startles them both to the core. The truth about the aliens is finally discovered.  
  
Spoiler: None really. Takes place near the end of season 9, before the actual episode titled "William" and that means you have to forget how the series ended on TV and open your mind up a new, hopefully more intriguing ending for the show and certainly for Scully/Reyes.  
  
Disclaimer: This story is based on the characters from the TV show "X- Files" that belongs to FOX TV along with Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen Productions, and is not meant as an infringement on their copyright of the series.  
  
Feedback: buffyfaith19@yahoo.com  
  
William, where are you?  
  
Chapter One.  
  
There was nothing but darkness in the sky, wind howling, debris flying through the air and many other noises of unknown origin crashing in the night were heard for hours on end.  
  
Monica Reyes woke up countless times as the hurricane force winds played havoc with her attempts to get some sleep and soon she was wide awake, much to her chagrin.  
  
She slipped her nightgown on, walked out into the hallway and heard something in her living room and she wondered if it was just the storm or something else. It was only natural that she would walk back to her dresser and grab her gun from inside and proceeded back out towards the noise with caution.  
  
The storm was not letting up, and there was a huge crashing sound from the living room. She stormed in, gun ready and saw a figure on the ground struggling to get to it's feet and she moved over to it and put the gun up to the head and grabbed the person and pulled them to their feet.  
  
As the person turned to face Monica she soon realized this was no intruder, but in fact Dana Scully who was standing before her. "What are you doing Scully?"  
  
She was still a little groggy from whatever caused her to take a fall so Monica helped her over to the couch. Sitting down beside her, she then noticed a nasty cut on her forehead. Quickly, she ran to the bathroom and got out her first aid kit and a washcloth. After putting some cold water on it, she went back and cleaned Scully's wound as best she could and then bandaged her up and then tried to get her to lie back and relax for awhile.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay? You still don't look very good?" Monica questioned, as she checked Scully's forehead for a possible fever, brushing the few strands of hair away from her face as her eyes met Scully's. Time stood still as this continued for a number of minutes before Scully lifted her body to a sitting position.  
  
"I'm fine. Really. Someone hit me as I turned around. I don't know who. It felt like a brick hit me though."  
  
"Okay, but can I ask why you're at my apartment?"  
  
"I'm sorry Monica. I should have told you what I was doing before I came over."  
  
"You can tell me now Scully. You know I want to help in any way I can."  
  
"Yes, I know you do." she managed to get to her feet, walked over to her purse and picked it up and sat back down on the couch beside Monica again. She took out a small piece of paper and handed it to Monica.  
  
Monica picked it up and read it out loud.  
  
"We have William. Do not try to get him back. Do not try to find him or we will have no choice but to kill him. He is safe. Make sure he stays that way and accept he's in a better home now. Of course we know you will try to track him down, but if are so foolish, bring a body bag with you to collect your son. Is that clear?  
  
Monica could see Scully's eyes tear up and she reached over and put her arms around her and gave her a much needed hug. Scully let her sadness, anger, frustration and every other emotion she was feeling out and before Monica could say anything she saw that Scully was asleep in her arms. She leaned back on the couch, watched Scully sleep and soon was lost in sleep as well.  
  
When Monica woke up Scully wasn't beside her and she got up quickly and began to look around the apartment, "Scully?" she called out as she searched the place room by room before coming into her bedroom. Hearing the shower going, she let out a relieved sigh and then went back to the kitchen.  
  
Monica then made some coffee, some bacon and eggs and was just putting them on the table when Scully walked out in nothing but a towel.  
  
Scully smiled as she saw the food on the table and smelled the fresh coffee in the air, "I'm not really dressed for eating."  
  
"Don't worry about it." Monica smiled, "Have a seat. We don't want your eggs to get cold."  
  
Scully sat down, grabbed the mug of coffee and had a quick drink. She savored the taste and aroma and then watched as Monica sat down across from her. The two women enjoyed the meal, not saying a whole lot, but enjoying each other's company just the same.  
  
When it was over, Scully grabbed her dishes and began to put them in the dishwasher. Monica grabbed them from her and gave her a friendly slap on the wrists, "Hey, guests don't do the cleanup around here. Now, go get dressed and we can talk when you're done."  
  
Scully gave her a warm smile and handed her the dishes, "You do run a tight ship around here I see. I do need to get dressed, so I won't argue, this time." With that she walked away, the little Mickey Mouse towel looking so cute on her as she did.  
  
She was back out in less than 10 minutes in a rather casual look for her, with blue sweater and nice fitting dark pants.  
  
"Now, what is going on Scully?"  
  
"I honestly don't know." she responded softly, "I found the letter when I went home last night. The nanny wasn't there and William was gone as well. The note was in his little bed and it just doesn't feel like this is part of any conspiracy. It's more like a kidnapping, yet there was no ransom demand. Nor do I have much money, so that just seems to make it even more bizarre."  
  
"The next question is why were you here last night?"  
  
"I came over to talk to you. I should have called. Obviously, but, I was so shaken up I just got in my car and I ended up here. I got out and was about to knock on the door when I saw a shadow in the window. It definitely wasn't yours, so I checked and since the door was open, I tried to walk in quietly. Your silly door squeaks just a bit too much and as I turned to face the figure I got hit with something right in the head and that's about all I remember." Scully said, "Except that when I woke up I was all bandaged up and lying in your arms. That did make me feel so much better and more relaxed as I woke up in a strange place."  
  
"I'm glad you came here. I want to help. We should call Doggett and Skinner, don't you think?"  
  
Scully got up and paced in front of the couch, then looked back at me, "I just don't know. If they think I have contacted anyone William is in very real danger. Then again, if they know I came to you it might be too late already." she paused for a moment and then her face turned white again and the guilt and fear was took over, "What have I done! I could have already got my little boy killed."  
  
Monica got up and put her arm and Scully's shoulder, "Stop this Scully. Please. We don't know anything yet. Please, don't beat yourself up any more. We need to get back to your place and see if there are any other clues lying around. If they are going to hold out for ransom or something else, they will be calling you at home."  
  
"I know. I know your right. I just...when will this end? I mean, he's so tiny still. He has no idea what is going on and his life has been in constant turmoil since he was born. I just want him to have a normal life. That's all." she was still very emotional, but gained her composure and moved away from Monica and then turned to face her again, "Okay, let's call Doggett, but I will wait until we know something more substantial before I talk to Skinner."  
  
"Good then." Monica said with a positive nod, "Let's just get back to your place and call him on the way."  
  
Scully agreed and they got into her car and took off. Monica got out her cell phone and called Doggett's private line.  
  
"Doggett here."  
  
"John, it's Monica. We may have a situation on our hands. Scully's son is missing and there was what appears to be a ransom note left, but with no demands on it. We're heading back to her place now. Can you meet us there?"  
  
"Sorry Monica. They are sending me out of the country on assignment. Skinner told me it had to do with Mulder's disappearance, but they didn't want to say anything to Scully until something was more concrete."  
  
"I understand. Well, have a safe trip and keep in touch."  
  
Scully looked over at Monica and could tell by the conversation that John was going somewhere, so she kept staring at Monica waiting for some information on it and Monica spent that time thinking of what she should tell her.  
  
"Oh, sorry Scully." Monica apologized, "Yes John was put on assignment. He didn't say where, just that it was on an x-files case."  
  
"Then why weren't we informed and why is he going alone?"  
  
"I don't know the details. Just that he had a lead and he was going to follow it up. Right now we need to concentrate on our own situation."  
  
"Yes, I suppose your right." Scully reluctantly agreed.  
  
As they approached Scully's apartment they noticed three black vehicles with no license plates and tinted windows parked along the street. Scully surveyed the situation, turned her head backwards and put the car in reverse. Backing up in a hurry, she made a right turn and took off down the street, then turned up an alley and parked near some trees. She got out of the car walked around to Monica's side of the car, "I think the only way in without them seeing us is to walk, but I think the best way to do this is have them see my car drive by so they won't expect anyone to be going into the apartment."  
  
"Okay, so did you want me to go up to your place and look around?"  
  
"Yes, I think that's best for now. They will be more likely to follow me if they know it's me in the car."  
  
"Right." Monica agreed, "I'll contact you on your cell when I'm done looking around."  
  
"Good. Talk to you soon." Scully added, and as Monica got out of the car and was walking towards the apartment she called out, "Be careful okay."  
  
Monica smiled, "I will." then turned and walked slowly up to the apartment, waited for Scully to get back in the car and drive around the front and hopefully get the interest of the three very suspicious black cars.  
  
Scully drove by the first car and even though she couldn't see through the dark tinted glass, she did notice them pull out and follow her as did the other two cars, so that was a success.  
  
Monica used Scully's key to get into her apartment and put on a pair of white gloves and began the very slow and tedious process of investigating every inch of Scully's apartment with the hope of finding something, anything that might tip them off to who was responsible for William's disappearance.  
  
It really was a slow and painstaking job to look through every page of every book Scully owned, look through her clothes, her dresser, her fridge, her personal items, just trying to find something that doesn't fit, that stands out as a possible piece of evidence.  
  
She was looking through the front closet when she saw a small piece of paper in the corner. Kneeling down, she picked it up and noticed it had some numbers on one side. 555-234 and the last number was missing.  
  
Monica knew she could have this traced and find all the possible matches with very little trouble and at least it was something. She continued to look the place over, making William's room her next stop.  
  
It was there she found another piece of what she hoped was important evidence. It was blood by the bottom of his little bed. There was a jagged metal edge sticking out from the bottom left leg. Looking closer she saw a piece of clothing still on the metal edge and she got out her cell phone and called Scully.  
  
"Scully. I need to know if you cut yourself on Williams bed last night?"  
  
"No I didn't. I meant to get that fixed. I hope you didn't hurt yourself on that nasty piece of metal."  
  
"No, but someone did." Monica added as she continued to look around the room, "I have blood and fibers on this metal. I'll have a team come collect this evidence and if we're lucky there will be some DNA proof of who was in your room last night."  
  
"Oh that's great news Monica. Thank you so much."  
  
"Don't thank me yet. Are you still being followed?"  
  
"Yes, but I only see two cars behind me, so you better be careful there."  
  
"Thanks for the tip. I will be on the lookout. I just don't want to leave until we get this evidence collected. I don't want to lose the only lead we have." Monica was about to hang up when she noticed the piece of paper in her hand, "Oh wait, I found this number on the floor of your closet. Does the number, 555-234 then it's blank, mean anything to you?"  
  
"No, I've never heard that number before."  
  
"Alright, I will have it checked out and as soon as I know this place is secure, I will meet you downstairs."  
  
"Okay. I appreciate all your help Monica. I hope you know that." Scully said, hoping Monica could tell how much she meant to her.  
  
"I do. I want to help." Monica said quickly, "Now, you drive safe and make sure they don't try and pull anything on the road or something."  
  
"I will. Talk to you soon."  
  
They both hung up and Monica called the FBI and had a team come out to Scully's house. She was told it would be about 20 minutes and so she continued to look around the house for even more evidence.  
  
Scully was taking a scenic route around the city when she noticed the second car was also gone and figured they knew she was stalling and decide to head back home.  
  
Monica was looking through William's blankets and found another piece of paper. This time it wasn't anything but a page from a children's book that he must have ripped out one night. She went back into Scully's bedroom, noticed that the drawers were all open and had been looked through and she took the time to go through them herself, but unfortunately didn't find anything in them.  
  
The doorbell rang and Monica pulled out her gun, walked over and asked who it was. Looking through the peephole, she recognized agent Simon from past meetings, opened the door and let him and his team in.  
  
She gave them the piece of paper and showed them the blood and fabric on the side of the bed and told Simon she needed the results sooner than was possible and he nodded his head yes and said they were all going to do their best.  
  
Monica grabbed her cell and called Scully again.  
  
"Scully, the team is here so I'm ready to leave. I'll meet you out back. How far away are you?"  
  
"Not more than 5 minutes. I lost the other car so I don't know what's going on. Tell the team to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. I'll be there soon."  
  
Monica turned and told Simon about the three cars they found watching this place and how two had stopped following her and he said they'd bring some unmarked cars and keep the place under surveillance for the next 48 hours.  
  
She thanked him and then made her way out back, staying low just in case someone was still watching.  
  
Once she reached the spot where Scully dropped her off she crouched down and leaned against the fence until she heard a car turn in and she saw it was Scully, so she climbed into the back seat and stayed down low and Scully took off and tried to lose her tail.  
  
She was making every turn she could, going through parking lots, waiting at green lights until it turned red and then speeding through it and still the car kept pace. Finally, she led the car to a remote area of the city and just stopped the car. She got out and started walking towards the car. It was in reverse in seconds and soon was out of sight.  
  
Monica climbed up from her perch in the back and said, "And you couldn't have thought of this 30 minutes ago?"  
  
Scully walked over to where Monica was, saw her holding her back and neck and smiled, "Oh, you don't like my driving?"  
  
"Well, I think it's more about not liking the floor in the back seat. That is just not comfortable when the car is flying around. And how many potholes did you hit anyway??  
  
"I think it was 13 last I counted. Oh here, let me help." Scully then put her fingers around Monica's neck and began to rub her softly at first, then gripped her soft neck a little firmer and began to massage all her muscles with such a gentle touch that Monica could only moan her approval.  
  
Scully continued to move her hands over Monica's aching neck and shoulder and then pushed her down over the hood of the car and pulled up her shirt and began to slowly massage her lower back, her fingers felt like magic to Monica's back and she didn't want it to stop.  
  
Monica was almost in a trance when Scully finally pulled her hands away from her and it took her a couple seconds to stand up straight and look at Scully who was smiling widely at her, "So, how do you feel now?"  
  
"OMG. I can't believe it. I feel like I could lie down and sleep for hours though. That was amazing Scully. Where did you learn to do that?"  
  
"I'm not telling." Scully said playfully, "I'm glad you liked it though.. You really were very tense."  
  
"Are you for hire? I could use one of these a week on this job."  
  
"If you ask nicely we could work something out."  
  
Monica's eye brows raised at that comment, wondering if she was reading more into it than was there, but her first instinct was that Scully was flirting with her and she liked it.  
  
"Oh really? Well, then count me in. Whatever it takes have those magic hands work their magic on me again I'm more than willing to do."  
  
"Then it's settled. We'll find a way to do this again soon."  
  
"Yes, we will. I promise." Monica added, her eyes looking deep into Scully's and she could swear there was a spark there. She felt something coming from Scully and was more than willing to find out what that was. But, right now, they had a job to do, so she smiled back at her and got in the passenger seat and watched as Scully sat down beside her and drove away.  
  
It was about 10 minutes into the drive when Scully looked over at Monica. "Where are we going anyway? I don't think I can go back to my place and I have a feeling your place will be watched as well.?"  
  
"You're right." Monica sighed, "Why don't we just take a room at one of these out of the way motels, sign in under some alias and wait for the lab results to come in."  
  
"I think that's a good idea." Scully agreed, "I need to keep moving though or I think too much and that isn't good right now. I need to stay focused."  
  
"I understand Scully. We need to get some rest and then figure out where to go from there. Plus, I'm so hungry right now."  
  
Scully turned and smiled at Monica, "Me to, and I don't want motel take out, so why don't we stop and have a nice dinner at one of these countless restaurants?"  
  
"I'm up for that. What are you in the mood for? Chinese? Italian? Something simple?"  
  
"Actually I'd love a hot pizza with everything on it about now." Dana said with a big smile as she thought about the pizza.  
  
"Sounds delicious." Monica nodded, "I know a great place just a couple blocks down that make the best pizza's I've ever tasted."  
  
"Glad that's settled. Do you know the number for take out there?"  
  
"Sadly I do." Monica said with a half joking laugh, "I know too many take out numbers. I will call ahead."  
  
Monica placed the order and Scully drove around the block a few times and then parked just outside the small building. They waited a few more minutes making small talk and laughing until Monica looked at her watch and got out of the car and walked inside the small pizza place and came out with a large pizza box in her hand. She slid into her seat and the smell of hot pizza filled the car instantly. Both women looked at each other and smiled, Scully drove off and then headed for the outskirts of the city and they found a motel called, "Last Chance" and thought it looked appropriately seedy enough so they parked and got out.  
  
They registered as Ginger and Mary Ann and the old guy chuckled as he handed them a key. They walked down the corridor until they found room 9. Scully opened the door and they walked in and looked around, which took about 2 seconds, since there was very little in this place.  
  
An old 14 inch color TV, a bed and a small night table, with an equally small chair to go with it as well as a bathroom with no shower.  
  
There weren't many options, so they hopped up on the bed, which did seem to have clean sheets at least, and sat there eating some pizza and drinking the free Coke that came with it.  
  
They both ate more than they wanted and Monica got up and put the pizza box in a corner of the room and then sat back up on the bed with Scully, "Well, that was good. How did you like it?"  
  
"It was great. That was one fine pizza. I like your taste in food so far. The breakfast was also great, if I didn't say so earlier." Scully added as she helped clean up.  
  
"You did, but thanks." Monica said, "Well, what did you want to do? It's still kind of early, but I don't think the lab results will come in until morning at the earliest."  
  
"I'm still so full of energy to get any sleep right now. We could just go for a walk if you like?"  
  
Monica got up off the bed, "That sounds like a good idea."  
  
The two women locked the cheap motel room and then began walking down the sidewalk that led out of the city. It was a much calmer night, with a beautiful full moon in the sky and nothing but a fresh summer breeze blowing in from the south. Before they knew it they were walking down the highway now and decided to go along a bike path that led into a park to the west.  
  
They were walking at a very slow, leisurely pace when Scully stopped and took Monica's arm and pointed towards a deer at the top of the hill, "Isn't that just a beautiful creature?"  
  
"Yes it is. That innocent face, not a care in the world, just enjoying some berry's off the bushes." Monica looked in her purse and then shook her head, "I wish I had a camera. That would be such a great picture."  
  
"I know." Scully said instinctively, and then looked at Monica again, "Do you take pictures as a hobby?"  
  
"I try. I don't have a lot of time for it, but it is something I enjoy doing when I get a chance."  
  
"I had no idea. I'd love to see any pictures you've taken one day."  
  
"I'd like that." Monica said with a big smile, "When this is all over I will have you over and let you see my very small collection. I take hundreds of pictures, but only a very few seem to stand out enough to keep."  
  
"I look forward to seeing them." Scully answered, her honest enthusiasm was not lost on Monica. "So what do you do in your spare time?"  
  
"Ever since William came into my life my spare time is spent catching up on sleep." she laughed, then continued on to answer Monica's question, "But, before that I spent alot of time reading and even dabbling in some writing. I've always been a big fan of the old Agatha Christie mysteries and have tried my luck at writing a novel for the past 9 or so years."  
  
"Really? I'd love to read it or anything you've written." Monica said enthusiastically.  
  
"I don't know, normally I'm pretty shy about my writing." Scully said almost shyly, "But, I don't feel that way around you. So yes, I'd like to have you read some of the stories I've written."  
  
"That's great. I love reading when I have the time. I have a feeling you would make a very good writer. You sure have a lot of experiences with strange occurrences to fall back on."  
  
"Yes, that has helped a lot. Sure keeps my mind open to any possibility."  
  
They had made it all the way back to the motel, both more than tired from the long walk and they got inside and locked the door. They both moved towards the bathroom at the same time and then both stopped at the same time. Looking at each other with big smiles on their faces, Scully waved her hand to allow Monica past.  
  
Monica made a bowing gesture and then snuck past and went inside to wash up and change. Scully grabbed her overnight bag, pulled out her nightgown, sat it on the edge of the bed and waited for Monica to come out.  
  
A couple minutes later Monica stepped out of the bathroom wearing a very cute little pink nighty with matching pink panties. She hopped on the bed, watched Scully walk around and then stopped in front of her.  
  
Monica felt Scully reaching up beside her legs, noticed the nighty lying under her legs, smiled, lifted her legs, watched Scully pull it out and walk slowly into the bathroom. Scully washed her face and slipped into her own nightgown and walked back out and around to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers and lie down beside Monica. They said their goodnights and Monica curled up in a little ball and fell asleep.  
  
Scully said her goodnight and lay her head down on her pillow. She always had the most vivid dreams of anyone she knew and sometimes that scared her and other times it was the best gift she could imagine. Tonight was one of those times. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two.  
  
Scully said her goodnight and lay her head down on her pillow. She always had the most vivid dreams of anyone she knew and sometimes that scared her and other times it was the best gift she could imagine. Tonight was one of those times.  
  
Her dream started with her on a beach on the island of Maui, alone on a secluded beach. Sunbathing topless and enjoying the beautiful clean air when a shadow blocked the sun, causing her to open her eyes and as she looked through the sunglasses she had on she could make out a tall woman's body standing in front of her.  
  
"May I help you miss?" she asked, not sure who this person was.  
  
"Actually you could. I'm looking for someone to put some lotion on my back and legs. As you can see, my hands are out of commission at the moment. I had a bit of an accident in my room today. Started a fire and after I put it out I grabbed the frying pan to move it out of way and well, it was still incredibly hot and well, there you have my story."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it's not serious."  
  
"No, they told me a couple days wrapped up like this and they should be fine. Anyway, I hate to impose, but I just felt like you were friendly and had a feeling you would help."  
  
"Well, I would hate to make your feelings turn out to be wrong, so I'd be glad to help. Why don't you lie down here then."  
  
The girl lay down in front of Scully and Scully was quick to notice what a lovely young woman this was. Long legs, that framed a very shapely ass, a well toned back and arms and such a pretty smile.  
  
Scully got on her knees, grabbed the lotion, poured some on her hands and began to rub it over the woman's soft skin. Slowly moving across her back and neck and shoulders, sliding around the sides to her stomach and then down her lower back and over her thighs and down her calf's and ankles and then all the way back up again.  
  
The woman then unhooked her top and turned over onto her back. Scully paused for a moment, until the woman asked her to continue. She poured a little more lotion onto her hands and put her hands on the woman's stomach. She then slid them up and down her chest, careful to avoid the woman's breasts as she moved over her neck and shoulders and then back down to her lower stomach and then down the front of her thighs and down her legs again and back up.  
  
Scully then moved back up to the woman's stomach and hesitated about what to do next when the woman looked right up at her and said, "Would you be so kind as to put just a little on my breasts to? I would hate for them to get burned, and I just love an all over tan."  
  
"Um, well, okay. If that's what you want."  
  
Scully put a small amount of lotion on her hands and then gingerly put them on the woman's very firm breasts and began to move the lotion around. Even though it was a very innocent request, Scully found it hard to ignore what she was feeling. At the same times, she continued touching the woman's breasts, rubbing the woman's nipples ever so softly with her thumbs and then she just pulled away and the woman opened her eyes again and said, "That was really so nice of you. You have the most sensitive touch I've ever felt."  
  
"Thank you. You have the softest skin I've ever had the pleasure of massaging."  
  
"You're so sweet. Would you care to have dinner tonight?"  
  
Scully was trying to process all that was happening and wondered why this woman wanted to have dinner. Then again, what was wrong with having dinner with someone anyway she wondered even more. "Yes, I'd like that. What time?"  
  
The woman pondered the question and then looked at her watch and back at Scully, "I think I will lie in the sun for an hour or so and then I have to get back to the hotel and wait for a call from my agent, so how about we meet in my room at about 5?"  
  
"Sure. I will see you then. Is there anything else I can do for you before I go?"  
  
"Well, I'm not sure I should even ask this of a stranger. But, I'd really like to get an all over tan, so would you be a sweetheart and slide those bottoms off for me?"  
  
This woman sure wasn't shy about her body. Scully didn't want to say no, so she figured yes was the only response left.  
  
She nodded yes and then knelt down and put her hands on the side of the woman's bikini strings, and slowly slid them off and put the bottoms beside her top and stood up again. "Thanks so much. You've been an angel. I look forward to our dinner." the woman said, then sat up as Scully was walking away, "By the way, my name is Monica Reyes. What's yours?"  
  
"Hi Monica. I'm Scully. Dana Scully. I'm an author. I'm here for the mystery writer's convention."  
  
"That is quite a coincidence." Monica's eyes lit up, "I'm here as a freelance photographer taking pictures for my very own magazine called, Reyes Visuals. I'm also here taking pictures of all the authors for a segment I'm doing for another magazine called, Sci Fi Weekly and I believe your name is on my itinerary to."  
  
"Yes, I have a photo shoot in the morning. That is quite a coincidence indeed."  
  
Monica touched Scully's arm and smiled, "Maybe not. Could be fate."  
  
Scully smiled at the woman and couldn't argue with her on that, so she smiled and said she would see her at 5.  
  
Reyes lay back down in the nude and Scully had one last appreciative glance and then walked back up to her room.  
  
Before she got there, Scully woke up and sat up in the bed abruptly. She looked down at Monica sleeping and tried to figure out what she was dreaming and better yet, why she was dreaming of Monica like this.  
  
She got up out of bed, walked over to the small window, took a peak outside and saw that it was only 6 AM. Still, it was time to get a move on, so she turned around and walked over to Monica, gave her a little nudge on her arm and called out her name.  
  
Monica slowly opened her eyes and saw Scully standing over her and said, "Good morning Scully. You look wide awake. Did you have a good sleep?"  
  
Scully paused before answering, turned to walk towards the bathroom, looked back and said, "Yes I did. I feel very good right now. I had a very strange, but pleasant dream that seemed to help."  
  
"Really? What about?"  
  
"I'm not sure, I don't remember a lot of it. Just that I woke up smiling. I will tell you about it one day though. You might get a chuckle out of it to."  
  
"I can't wait." Monica replied quickly, eager to find out what Scully was dreaming about.  
  
Scully went into the bathroom and got into some new clothes and then walked out to see Monica doing some kind of stretching at the foot of the bed and how she got herself into that position was something Scully didn't even want to know.  
  
Monica was twisted up like a pretzel, her body in a very awkward position and it was hard to avoid staring at her breasts, as they were really trying to escape her tiny nightgown in a big way.  
  
Scully shifted her eyes and turned away, "Bathroom's free if you want it." Monica began to uncoil her body, got up and walked into the bathroom with Scully enjoying the view as she did.  
  
Scully shook her head and tried to get Monica out of it so she could focus on what was important here today. Finding her son.  
  
When Monica was finished in the bathroom, she came out wearing a very casual t-shirt, jeans and they seemed to suit her well and were a lot more visually pleasing that those suits they had to wear for work most of the time.  
  
Scully grabbed her bag and the two women headed out to the car and once inside Monica got on the cell and called the FBI and inquired about the tests they were running. After some phone tag she finally got a hold of Simon who said he was just about to call her.  
  
"Monica, we have DNA evidence that the person who's blood was found in Scully's house is none other than Alex Krycek. I am informed you both know him. The phone number could have belonged to a number of establishments, but after eliminating the obvious ones, we were left with two possible names. One is an office building on 34th Street, down by the peer. A dummy corporation, Henderson Exports, owns it, but it led to a dead end. Mr. Igor Salionov is the owner of the other number. He's a Russian immigrant who has spent time working for the Russian mob here in the US, is wanted in numerous homicides and for extortion and even spent 7 years in the federal penitentiary for you guessed it, kidnapping. We will look into Salionov's whereabouts last night and get back to you."  
  
"That is incredible information Simon. Thank you so much." Monica said graciously, "Is there any info on where Krycek was seen last? Our information was that he was dead. Shot by Skinner himself. So this is kind of a shock."  
  
"From what we've learned the bullets in Skinner's gun were switched and Krycek was shot with nothing more than a pellet filled with fake blood. It seems as though the body was never processed either, so something is not right here. I'm sorry to say that we have no leads on Krycek at this moment."  
  
"That's okay, you've been a big help already. Thanks. We'll take it from there." Monica replied, and then turned to face Scully, "Krycek's blood was found in your house. Apparently, he isn't dead. The phone number belongs to two possible suspects, one a Russian mobster named Igor Salionov and the other is a place down by the peer, so I think that's where we should start."  
  
"I should get used to people coming back from the dead, but I never do. Krycek is certainly a possible threat to William, he can't be trusted. His only real motivation seems to be self interest, but I'm unclear as to how he could benefit from taking my son. You're right though, let's check out that office and see what we come up with first."  
  
With that, Scully pulled her car into the turning lane and headed north to the peer.  
  
It was a long, but pleasant drive and as they pulled into the very large industrial park, they noticed a huge sign for Henderson Exports and an arrow pointing to the left. Scully turned and followed the signs until they came across a fair size building with a number of 18-wheelers out in the parking lot with the Henderson Exports logo on them and parked the car and walked into the main office.  
  
There was a pretty young blonde woman working there, with a computer in front of her and a large blackboard behind her with all sorts of arrival and departure times all across it, with the names of the drives in black chalk standing out amongst the white writing.  
  
"Hello. May I help you?" she asked politely, her white teeth almost enough to blind a person as she smiled back at the two women.  
  
"I hope so. Could you tell me who's office has this number, 555-234 then it's blank.? Scully asked, showing her the number on a piece of paper.  
  
The girl punched it into the computer, and then looked up and said, "Well, there is a 555-2345 number here, it belongs to Boris Sikovic."  
  
"Can you tell me where we can find him?"  
  
She looked on her computer again, and then through a large notepad that was on her desk, and then looked back up at the women, "He's in his office right now according to the logs. May I tell him who wishes to see him?"  
  
Monica smiled and twirled her hair, "We'd like to surprise him actually. Would that be okay?"  
  
"I don't know. That is a bit irregular.?  
  
"It's okay, were old friends. I'm sure he would be happy to see us." Monica added with a big smile.  
  
"Since you look like nice people, I will let you go through. But, don't make me regret this."  
  
"Your to kind. Thanks."  
  
She then pointed to the office down the hall and to the left and the two women made their way down the plush carpet of the corridors and then walked right into the office and saw a middle aged man talking on the phone. He had a military haircut, strong jaw, very intense eyes, must have been about 6' 6, and well over 240 pounds. He was not a small man by any means.  
  
"What are you doing in my office?" he bellowed, his Russian accent still evident, although less so when he was yelling.  
  
"Calm down Boris. We're only here to have a friendly talk." Scully said as she closed the door behind her.  
  
"Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I'm special agent Dana Scully and this is special agent Monica Reyes and we're from the FBI. We're investigating the disappearance of my son."  
  
"And why are you wasting your time talking to me? I have nothing to do with it. I don't even know you."  
  
"That's good then. This might be a very quick conversation." Dana said, taking a seat in front of Boris. "Do you know a man named Igor Salionov?"  
  
"Yes, so what if I do?" Boris barked, "He's a good truck driver. He's worked for me on and off for the past two years. He did his time for his crime. He is clean now. Leave him be."  
  
"Actually it was your phone number that turned up on our search. So, are you the only person who has access to this phone?"  
  
"No, but I don't think anyone else has used it outside of my staff."  
  
"Could we have the names of everyone with access to this phone? Make it everyone who you employ here."  
  
"Fine! Whatever will get you to leave me alone." Boris fumed, "Now, are you done?"  
  
Scully held up her hand, "One more question. Do you know anyone named Alex Krycek?"  
  
"Only by name and from what I've heard he's not to be trusted and is unwelcome in his homeland and most anywhere else for that matter."  
  
"Why is that?" Monica asked.  
  
"Because he's a liar and a thief and has betrayed most everyone he has ever had dealings with, including both Igor and I. Now, I'm done. Go now."  
  
The women looked at each other and decided they had more than enough information for one visit and headed back out to the car.  
  
As they sat there, pondering what they had just learned another car pulled up just outside the main doors. A man got out and it was none other than Alex Krycek himself.  
  
"Isn't this interesting." Monica said to Scully rhetorically. "Oh it sure is." Dana agreed, "That man sure does get around. Now from what I could tell from Boris, he was telling the truth and genuinely disliked Alex, so what are we missing?"  
  
"Well, I think we better follow him inside and find out if he's there to see Boris or if Igor is around."  
  
"Okay, call in our position and make sure someone knows we're here in case we need backup." Scully said calmly.  
  
"Done." Monica nodded and then sent the information to the FBI and the two women got back out of the car and walked back into the office building and noticed that the secretary was no longer at her desk and they both pulled out their guns and began to proceed down the hall slowly and cautiously.  
  
Scully was in the lead and she took a quick look around the corner and saw Alex talking to Boris. They were having an animated conversation when Alex grabbed Boris by the neck, but that only seemed to anger the giant man, who got up and pushed Alex to the ground with a severe push. Krycek got up and pulled out a tiny vile of something and seemed to be threatening Boris with it.  
  
It seemed to be working as Boris sat back down, pulled out a key and then walked over to the wall. He moved a large picture and proceeded to unlock the safe that was behind it. He reached inside and pulled out two large envelopes. One was white and much thicker than the other one, which was about letter size and quite thin and couldn't have had more than one or two documents inside tops.  
  
Alex took both envelopes and gave Boris a very dirty look and then walked out of his office and then down the opposite corridor.  
  
The two agents followed, but as they opened the back door and looked out, they noticed it was filled with workers, almost all of them carrying some kind of envelope or another.  
  
They looked at each other and rolled their eyes and then went back to talk to Boris.  
  
When they got there, they found him on the floor with a single bullet hole in his forehead and a silencer on the gun that was still in his hand.  
  
Once again, Monica called the FBI only this time it was for a body pickup, since it was apparent he had shot himself.  
  
They sat outside the office until the FBI arrived and took over the scene and then they got back in the car and began to formulate their next plan of action.  
  
"Well, this is just great. We finally get a witness we can confirm had contact with Krycek and he kills himself within minutes of meeting with Krycek. I want to know just what Krycek had in that vile and just what would make this man kill himself for seemingly no reason." Scully questioned aloud.  
  
Monica let out a sigh, "I don't know Scully, but we need to take a closer look at Igor Salionov and get some answers about what power Krycek seems to be holding over these men."  
  
"I think you should call Simon and see if he or someone has talked to Igor since this morning. If not, let him know we will take care of it. If they have, tell him to fax the report to your place and we can have a look at what was said." Scully said, wanting to follow up every possible lead.  
  
Monica just nodded and placed the call to agent Simon and after a lengthy discussion, she hung up and turned back to Scully, "It seems our Igor Salionov was more than cooperative with the FBI and is seeking witness protection from Krycek."  
  
"Really?" Scully asked excitedly, "That sounds promising. What else did you find out?"  
  
"Well, it seems Krycek has been extorting money and favors from the Russian mob here in the US, specifically Boris and Igor and has been using a vile of the black liquid to induce fear into all of them. He also has some very incriminating evidence against both men and Igor has decided he would rather be in some prison or safe house than at the mercy of Krycek for the rest of his life."  
  
"Good. I hope this is the break we're looking for." Scully said with a renewed optimism in her voice, "Was there any location on where Krycek has been staying recently?"  
  
"Yes." Monica said enthusiastically, as she looked at her notebook, "432, Berkley Street, Apt 11. There are also two addresses he uses when he is in Russia or Paris, so we will have them both put under surveillance immediately and see what we come up with."  
  
"We should head over to Berkley Street and see if we can beat Alex there."  
  
Scully turned on the ignition and sped off in a hurry. The place they were looking for was a good 15 minute drive out to the suburbs and as they were driving Monica's cell phone went off and she picked it up, clicked it on and said, "Reyes here."  
  
"Monica. It's John. I have been in touch with Skinner and he told me about your run in with Krycek and I think I have some more information on him that might prove useful."  
  
"Great John, what is it? Where are you?"  
  
"I'm in Seattle right now. We just uncovered an underground mining operation who's prime objective was to try and simulate and or create a genetic equal to the black liquid Krycek has been carrying around with him. From what we know, it may be one of the last known sources of this liquid."  
  
"Okay, now how did you connect Krycek to this operation?"  
  
"As we always knew, Krycek is not a popular person with anyone he comes in contact with and once we had this place secure and we're threatening very long sentences for what we told them was treason, the two men in charge were more than happy to trade information for a lighter sentence. They to were very diligent when it came to any dealings with Krycek. They taped them all. We have over 120 hours of taped conversations between these men and Krycek as well as some very high ranking officials having conversations with Krycek. The tapes are mostly about recruiting members and getting financial support for this operation and others like it throughout the country and countries around the world. But, and this is the kicker, we have one tape with Krycek talking to FBI Assistant Director Follmer that will no doubt end his career in the FBI. It seems our shady director has been an associate of Krycek's for over 15 years and is one of the prime reasons any and all information on him have been destroyed over the years. There is also a mention of Follmer switching bullets in Skinner's gun the night we all believed Krycek had been killed by Skinner."  
  
"This just keeps getting better and better. I can't believe I ever trusted Brad." Monica lamented, "Anyway, Scully and I are about to investigate an address that Krycek keeps here in Washington and if we find anything we will let you know. Thanks again for the information John."  
  
"Be careful around Krycek, he is one shifty SOB." Doggett added, just before he hung up.  
  
"We will. Talk to you later."  
  
Monica then filled Scully in on the details of the mining operation and of Follmer's involvement with Krycek for the past 15 years and finished just as Scully parked the car a couple blocks from the Berkley Street.  
  
They once again got out of the car and made their way down the side street and back alley to the rear entrance of the apartment complex. It was a middle class building with a pool in the back and a lot of little playground accessories for the kids as well.  
  
The back door was open and they climbed the stairs until the reached the first floor and walked down the hall to apt 11 and knocked on the door.  
  
They waited for an answer and it was nothing but silence. The called out for Krycek to come out so they could talk to them, but still nothing.  
  
A tall man opened his door and stared at the two women and then walked out and said, "If your looking for that bastard Krycek your too late. He moved out two days ago. Didn't have much to his name anyway. A couple small suitcases and what looked like a chemistry kit of some kind with him."  
  
"Has anyone moved into this place yet?" Scully asked.  
  
"No, why?" "Then may we have a look inside?"  
  
"Sure, but as I said he's long gone."  
  
"That's fine sir, but we'd still like to have a look around."  
  
He took out a large key chain and then pulled out a key and opened the door and waved the two women inside, "Here you go. Lock up when you leave."  
  
They thanked the man and then made their way inside and began looking for any trace of Alex they could find. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three.  
  
Much to their chagrin, the place had been very thoroughly cleaned and they would find nothing there of any use. As they walked back down the stairs, Scully spotted something in the distance and they ran out to the pool area and saw a man walking swiftly down the street, carrying two envelopes. They knew it was Alex instantly and began to follow him at a very safe distance.  
  
Unsure of why he was back in this area or if he'd actually moved at all, they could only follow and hope he led them to his new residence. They also knew he was a very cautious man. Stopping almost every few steps and looking around, Alex Krycek was not an easy man to follow.  
  
The two women had to be very careful not to be spotted and managed to follow him to what looked like an abandoned school. It was boarded up and Alex climbed in through a side window and the women followed and tried to peak through the window, but it was very dark inside and they couldn't make out a thing, aside from some chairs and the ever present blackboard on the far wall.  
  
Scully put her gun back in it's holster and then got on her hands and knees and was about to climb into the building when Monica pulled her to her feet, "What are you doing Scully? We don't know what's down there or who and considering how dangerous Krycek is don't you think we should just call in and have the place surrounded so he can't get away?"  
  
"That may work. But, that may also make Krycek clam up and we may never get any information from him. This way we can go have a look at what he's up to inside and then let the FBI know of this place and they can search it and put it under surveillance after he's gone. Besides, I want to know what he is doing in there." Scully explained.  
  
"Fine. But, I'm going with you."  
  
"You should stay here in case he comes out."  
  
"No way. We do this together. We're a lot safer as a team." Monica pointed out.  
  
Scully paused for a second, then realized Monica was right, "You're right. Let's just get in there before he takes off out the other side."  
  
They both climbed through the window and onto a desk and then down to the floor and then made their way through the many corridors and class rooms, slowly searching it room by room until they came to the gymnasium.  
  
It was boarded off and there was no entrance they could find. They continued to look around the place, searching every room and finding nothing at all. Next they made their way down to the boiler room, that was turned off and very quiet and through the mass of pipes, furnaces and air conditioners they found a stairway leading downwards.  
  
As they looked down it seemed to go on forever. A whole lot further than it should've gone. This was just too strange. They began the very long climb down the stairs and after 10 straight minutes of climbing down a narrow shaft, they were relieved when they saw the bottom. They hurried down and found an old wooden door, sitting half opened just a couple feet from where the stairs ended and once again pulled out their guns and opened the door all the way and turned into the corridor.  
  
A very dark and smelly corridor, with very next to no light in the corridor, Scully pulled out her mini flashlight to give them some sense of where they were going. As she was shining it ahead, she spotted another door on the right side of the corridor.  
  
This one was made of solid steel and to make matters worse, was locked.  
  
Both women were visibly disappointed with this development, but knew the FBI would be able to open it once they were brought in to search the place. But, that didn't help the women at the moment, so they pressed on.  
  
Ahead was another cheap wooden door and they went through it and instantly the place lit up. This new corridor was very new and made of the finest marble in the world. Magnificently crafted patterns were scattered along the walls, mostly ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, but there were some strange numerical formula's on the walls as well. Mixed in with all that were diagrams of what appeared to be the original Ford Studebaker.  
  
The lights in the ceiling above were encased in a diamond shaped container and up ahead were yet another pair of doors.  
  
One was straight ahead at the end of the hall, while the other was just to the right of that one. Scully turned both door handles and they both opened. Now they had to decide which one to take.  
  
Monica shrugged her shoulders and Scully smiled at her and then had a quick peak through both doors and saw some computers in the room to the right, so they walked slowly through the doors and into a very large room that was literally filled with computers.  
  
The room seemed to go on for hundreds of feet and there was no way to guess how many computers were in the room, but a couple thousand wouldn't be a bad estimate. Monica walked up to the large video screen on the west wall and tried to make out the pattern on it. There were countless arrows, going from one dot to another, then back, as if it were airplane routes or some kind of transportation grid.  
  
Scully was looking at some of the print outs on the one and only computer that had a printer and again the information was in some kind of code and she couldn't make it out. "Scully, have a look at this." Monica said, pointing to the grid with her finger.  
  
"Okay, what I am looking at?"  
  
"This is just a theory, but if you look at the arrows really closely, almost until they become blurry, it seems to be showing a map of the world. From what I can tell, this is North America up here, Asia, Africa, South America and so on. Now, the main route I can see is from somewhere in California to probably Russia. Now the other main route seems to be going from Florida to Paris. There is a small one that could be a Mexico-Peru connection."  
  
Scully studied the screen for a moment and then looked at Monica again, "That is one possibility. We need to get a team down here as soon as possible though."  
  
"Yes, I agree." Monica said as she pulled out her cell phone to make another call, but found it was unable to get a signal. She figured it was the depth they were at or the many electrical devices and machinery that was interfering with the cell phone.  
  
"That's okay; we can call when we are finished here."  
  
"I think we should have a look in that other room. Either Krycek is still in this place or there is another way out. We still have to be careful."  
  
Monica nodded again and they made their way through the other door and into what looked like a conference room, but once again it seemed empty. Inside there was a large screen against the far wall and small monitors at each of the eight chairs on the large table and two doors at the bottom of either side of the large screen as well.  
  
Scully checked the monitors but they were not connected. Monica opened a small cupboard near the bar area and found a remote control unit. She picked it up, had a look at it and saw it had no writing on it at all, but did have about a dozen or so buttons with more of that small hieroglyphic type writing on it, pushed one and nothing happened. She pushed the second one and still nothing.  
  
She aimed it at the large screen and pushed all the other buttons and still nothing.  
  
Scully moved over to the door on the right and heard a voice and whispered for Monica to come over to where she was and they listened at the door and heard a number of voices talking, some louder than others and they had two options, barge in and see who was inside, or wait for backup. They chose the latter.  
  
Instead, they checked out the other door and found it led to an underground parking lot and to their surprise, there was also some form of rail system in place, as they watched a two car train of some kind pull up and stop at the large platform in the corner to the east.  
  
Soon after, two men came walking towards the women and they hid behind a car and watched as they opened the door and walked in.  
  
Scully then grabbed Monica by the arm and ran towards the train car that was still at the platform. After looking around, they noticed nobody was driving it, nor was it meant to be.  
  
They walked into the small room just off the platform and didn't find much but some cigarettes a couple books and a radio.  
  
Monica walked back out onto the platform, looked inside the cars and as she touched the window, the doors slowly opened. She turned and looked at Scully, who walked up and stood beside her and they both stepped slowly inside the car. As they stepped away from the doors, they closed behind them and the car began to move.  
  
Both women grabbed the railing and then they almost fell onto the two seats to the right and Scully pulled herself off Monica and sat back in the chair beside her and looked out the window to see where on earth they were headed.  
  
It was a very long ride and they saw nothing but a few lights the whole way there. Soon after, they felt the car slow down and they both looked out the window and saw another platform about 100 feet away. So they got up and stood by the doors and waited for the car to come to a complete stop. Monica touched the door and when they opened, they stepped off the car and onto the platform and had a look around.  
  
There was nothing about this platform that looked any different from the previous one. With the exception, there were about 30 cars in this parking lot, as opposed to just the one at the last one.  
  
This time the women chose to follow the road and see where it led them.  
  
It was a long and winding road, with many twists and turns, but after a very long and tiring walk, they saw some sunlight ahead. They walked towards it briskly, but as they reached the end of the road, they noticed it wasn't sunlight at all, it was artificial light created by a half dozen large poles with very bright lights atop them.  
  
The actual area felt like a warehouse with concrete floors and the metal sidings on all the walls, the mass industrial light fixtures in the ceiling and nothing but crates and heavy machinery scattered around the room.  
  
As they were walking towards the door, they spotted two men working to the far right of where they were standing. Hovering over what looked to be a small plane or some type of aircraft. Both men had protective suits on with large clear masks and were carrying g blowtorches to try to penetrate the hull of this craft.  
  
The two women hid behind a large section of crates and spent a good half hour watching the two men as they changed from a blowtorch to a large sledge hammer to some type of robotic rushing machine and still they made no dent in the craft. It was obvious this machine was made out of something incredibly strong and resistant to heat and it was fascinating to watch everything they tried.  
  
There was a loud noise coming from the left side of the warehouse and soon the women saw huge earth moving/crushing truck slowly work it's way towards where the two men were working.  
  
It had wheels made of steel and a large set of crushing arms attached to the front end. It made it's way closer and closer to the craft and as it got close, the arms began to extend out and over it. They were then lowered and clamped onto the craft, which was then lifted into the air where then the arms began to close against the sides of the craft. You could see the immense force it was creating and there was a large burst of smoke from the friction exploding around the craft. Right then, there was a large crashing sound as the craft fell to the ground, the steels arms just fell of the large machine and crashed to the ground. The man operating it got down off the machine and looked at how his machine had been to ashes by whatever it was they were trying to crush.  
  
He then let out a couple hundred obscenities before he kicked his machine and just walked back to the left and where he came from. The two men who were working on the craft walked over to it and there wasn't a scratch on it.  
  
They removed their masks and uniforms and put them down a clothes chute and walked out the doors to the north. Scully stepped out from the crate slowly, and she walked with Monica over to the strange craft. It was about the size of a small airplane only with an oval shape and no engine or propulsion device, at least on the outside.  
  
"Is this a spaceship?" Monica asked, her eyes fixated on the large object directly in front of her.  
  
Scully took a long look at it as well as she took a couple steps forward, "I don't know. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It could be some secret military project. It could be any number of things really. This could even be a US military base were on for all we know."  
  
"You don't think that do you? I mean, we saw Krycek come into this place, or one section of it at least. It just doesn't feel like one of our installations." Monica said as she scanned the place with her eyes.  
  
"I wouldn't put it past our military or even our government to deal with Krycek, since they don't know all that we do about him." Scully said as she took a closer look at the strange craft. "Even if they did, it probably wouldn't stop them if they thought he could provide them with something valuable."  
  
"That's true. I think we need to do a lot more investigating into this. We know the address of this place. We know how to get back here, so we should find out where this exit leads and start making some calls." Monica added, her eyes continually searching around the large warehouse as if she was sensing something.  
  
Scully watched Monica's eyes and began to feel a bit uneasy about the whole situation as well and as she looked back at Monica, she pointed to the north doors and they both began to run and then went flying through the doors and just kept right on running.  
  
They could tell they were still underground and it felt like they were running through some kind of tunnel and the only strange thing about it was that the ground was moving right along with them.  
  
As they stopped to look around, they began to shake and were actually knocked to the ground by the constant movement of the very unstable ground at their feet. Scully got to her feet and helped Monica up and they used each other for balance and held on tight as they tried to make there way through the long tunnel before this ground became even worse to travel on.  
  
Finally, after another long and exhausting run, the two women made it outside to a clearing. They were near a train station and made a quick note as to where they were and then made their way to a gas station down the road, checked the street signs and found out they were about 5 miles from where they started this little trip and still were no closer to catching Krycek.  
  
Monica called the FBI and had a car come pick them up and take them back to where they had parked. She gave the agent all the information they gathered underground and made sure he transferred it all to Skinner and they thanked the man for the lift and got out and hopped back into their car.  
  
It was well after 7 PM now and Monica looked at her watch and then back at Scully, "I don't know about you but I could use something to eat about now. Did you want to grab something and take it back to my place and eat?"  
  
"Actually that sounds like a great idea." Scully said with a nod and smile, "I don't want to be alone in my apartment right now and I'd love the company."  
  
"It's settled then. What are you in the mood for tonight?" Monica asked.  
  
"Nothing heavy." Scully, still feeling the affects of the pizza from the night before, "I'd be happy with a Caesar's salad and some fresh bread to go with it."  
  
"I'm up for that. I think this place downtown has pretty good salad so I'll call the order in and it should be ready by the time we get there."  
  
Scully just smiled and watched Monica dial and then place the order and she drove downtown, and parked in the back entrance per Monica's instructions. Monica got out and walked inside and was back out with a large paper bag and back in the car before she could blink.  
  
It didn't take long to reach Monica's apartment. Scully parked out front and Monica led the way up to her apartment, the place Scully remembers all to well from the welt on her head.  
  
Monica unlocked her door and they walked inside. Monica threw her jacket on the couch, set her purse on the counter and put the bag with the food in it on the table. She sat down and waited as Scully put her purse and jacket on the chair beside her, and then sat down across from her. She handed Scully a salad, two very fresh slices of bread, took her own food out and began to enjoy their meal as the two women relaxed and made small talk until they were finished.  
  
They gathered up the bag and the containers and tossed them in a garbage bag under the sink and then Monica stopped at her wine cabinet, "Would you like a glass of wine?" Scully nodded, "Yes that would be nice."  
  
Monica walked over to a pretty oak stained wine rack, that was mounted on the wall above her microwave and pulled out a bottle of very expensive imported Merlot. She grabbed a couple wine glasses from the cupboard and took them over to where Scully was sitting. Sitting the glasses on the coffee table, she slowly poured about half a glass of wine in each glass and then sat down right beside Scully and handed her a glass.  
  
Scully put her glass out to toast Monica and she smiled and they touched glasses and then each had a slow sip of wine and let it swirl around in their mouths before swallowing, "That was spectacular. Where did you find this?"  
  
"It's a long story." Monica said with a laugh, "A friend of a friend who knows a friend who makes wine in Sicily brought me back a case last year."  
  
"It must be nice to know friends in high places like that." Scully smiled as leaned back and kicked off her shoes and let out a soft sigh at how good that felt after a long day walking and running for what must have been over 10 miles totaled.  
  
"I know how you feel Scully. My feet ache right now something terrible." Monica kicked her shoes off to the side and leaned down and began to rub her feet from ankle to bottom of her foot, massaging in just the right places, letting out sharp little moans at how good her hands felt on her sore feet right now.  
  
"You sure know how to take care of your feet. You have to show you me your secret one day." Scully said, half joking and half hoping Monica would take her up on the offer.  
  
"There's no time like the present. I could give you a quick little demonstration right now if you want?" Monica looked up at Scully and tried to gauge her reaction and was more than a little pleased to see her smile back, "Sure, that would be so great right now."  
  
"The best place to do this is in the bathtub while you soaking your feet. So, follow me." Monica got up, led Scully back to the bathroom, turned the water on and let it heat up. She then looked back at Scully who was leaning against the bathroom door, their eyes locked together for the longest time. She stood up, walked over to where Scully was standing, put her hand up beside Scully's shoulder and continued to gaze into her eyes.  
  
Monica then put her other hand on Scully's waist, with no resistance to any of her advances, leaned in and put her lips on Scully's and felt her lips pushing back against hers and the two shared their first real kiss.  
  
Neither of them stopped the kiss, instead, the kiss became deeper and more passionate. Both women moving their hands up and down the other's body, clothes coming off, until they were standing against the bathroom door in nothing but their bra and panties.  
  
Monica took Scully's hand and led her back to the bedroom and she lay down with her arms still around her and lips still locked together, that first kiss lasting longer than either even realized, as they were so caught up in the moment time was standing still.  
  
Scully reached behind Monica and unhooked her bra and it fell to the floor as Scully pulled Monica closer and put her hands on her small yet firm round breasts, her mouth finding her nipple and her tongue slid over it and began to lick every inch or her now very hard nipple.  
  
Monica let out numerous sighs and audible moans of pleasure and Scully cupped her other breast and moved her tongue over her other nipple, hungrily licking and sucking the nipple until it was as hard as the other.  
  
Scully then kissed her way down Monica's firm stomach, her hands caressing the curves of her waist and hips before reaching her white lace panties.  
They were in the middle of a wonderful moment, when as luck would have it, Scully cell phone went off. Not wanting to miss any calls that could be about her son, she picked it up and answered it. Sadly, it was nothing but a recorded message from some marketing company, but it was enough to kill the mood.  
  
Monica smiled, crawled back up and found Scully's mouth, gave her a very soft kiss and held her close and they stay like that until the next morning.  
  
It was another early day for both of them, with Monica up first and had started making coffee and was in the process of getting ready for a shower when Scully woke up and watched Monica walk past her and into the bathroom.  
  
Scully got up and walked into the kitchen and saw that the coffee was ready and found a cup and poured herself some and then sat down at the table and opened up the morning paper.  
  
She was flipping through it casually until she got to the international section and saw the front-page headline, "Two known Russian mobsters found shot dead yesterday."  
  
Scully new Sikovic was murdered, but finding out that the other main lead in this case was also killed, was anything but uplifting so early in the morning.  
  
As she read on, the article said that Igor Salionov was killed at his residence with a single bullet to the head. Execution style. They placed the time of deaths a little over three hours apart. The paper suggests the police are following all possible leads.  
  
Which meant her and Reyes need to get in contact with the FBI and find out what else they know about these two homicides.  
  
Scully got out her cell phone and placed a call to Skinner on his private cell phone and he answered, "Skinner here."  
  
"It's Scully. I just read about Salionov's murder in the paper. Why weren't we told about this when it happened?"  
  
"I don't know the details." Skinner said gruffly, "The information was late getting to me and from what I can gather from my sources there was a very strong attempt to cover up or at least suppress this information from the media."  
  
Scully's eyes lit up, "But why? Who is involved?"  
  
"A cover up of this type has to involve very high level people from many different agencies. But, the information is out there, so the cover up was not a success. I've talked to a few men I trust and there is a lot of suspicion coming from our department. There are many rumors circulating around here and quite a few are pointing to assistant director Follmer, but there is not proof to back this up."  
  
"Didn't Doggett call you last night?" Scully asked, surprised Skinner hadn't heard the news about Follmer.  
  
"No, I wasn't in the office. Someone could have patched him through. Why?"  
  
"Because he has information that Follmer knows Krycek and has had contact with him for over 15 years. There's a very good chance he is in on all of this. I don't want to get into all the details over the phone, but I think you better start investigating Follmer now and find out what he's been doing in the past 24 hours."  
  
"These are serious allegations Scully. You better be able to back them up or you, Reyes and Doggett could lose your badges if you start accusing Follmer without proof."  
  
"We aren't about to do that." Scully reassured, "We just need you to look into his past a little closer. There has to be some connection to Krycek. I would guess some connections to other undesirables in his past. Right now, the two biggest suspects in these two murders are Krycek and Follmer, so we need some help here Skinner. You have a lot more security clearance than we do so I'm asking you to do what it takes to look into this more thoroughly."  
  
"I'll do what I can, but, I can't promise any miracles. Guys like Follmer are usually good covering their tracks or he would have slipped up by now. I'll get back to you on this." Skinner said and then hung up the phone and got to work.  
  
Scully put down her cell phone, got up to have a look in Monica's fridge and was not surprised to find a collection of fruit and vegetables, some assorted juices and even a six-pack of beer on the bottom shelf.  
  
She grabbed herself a grapefruit and sat back down. She had just begun to eat when Monica walked out of the bedroom. Her hair still wet, yet fully dressed, she walked over to the table, smiled at Scully and got a warm smile back before grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down across from her.  
  
"Good morning Monica."  
  
"Good morning to you to Dana." she said, realizing this was the first time she had ever used Scully's given name.  
  
"How did you sleep?"  
  
"Incredible. Just incredible." Dana gushed, "And you?"  
  
"The same. I think I have you to thank for that." Scully smiled, put her coffee down and gently put her hand over Monica's, "I'm not sure what to say right now."  
  
"You don't have to say anything right now." Monica said softly, "I don't want to add any more complications to your life right now either. I want you to know that I did want to be with you last night and I' here for you any time you need me. I'm not going anywhere."  
  
"Thank you. I know I can count on you. It's why I feel so comfortable around you. I do want to talk more once I find William. I do have a lot I need to say to you. But you're right; we don't need the complications during this investigation." Scully got up, walked over to Reyes and put her hand on her shoulder as she walked past her, then stopped, turned her head back towards her, "I just want you to know that I loved last night and want to continue it once I get William back." Monica smiled back and Scully went into the bedroom and then climbed into the shower. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four.  
  
Monica got up and went into her living room and opened a drawer in her desk looking for some phone numbers and came across a picture of her and Brad Follmer. She picked it up and looked at it and she thought back to time she met him and only wish she'd have gotten some evidence on him back when she spent all that time with him.  
  
Flashback 1997.  
  
Monica got to work at 9 AM on the button and as she walked to her desk she saw a man standing just outside the assistant director's office, dressed in a perfectly tailored Armani suit talking to the assistant director at the time Ed Parsons.  
  
They were having a rather animated conversation, which ended with Parsons telling the new man to get out and get back to work.  
  
The man came walking straight towards her and almost knocked her over as he brushed past her.  
  
He stopped as soon as he made contact and then quickly helped her get her balance, "I'm sorry. How rude of me. My name is Brad. Brad Follmer. I just transferred here after being overseas for a couple years."  
  
"Hi. I'm Monica Reyes."  
  
"Excuse me for asking, but are you an agent?"  
  
"Yes, why do you ask?" Monica asked, her eyes trying to get a read on Follmer.  
  
"No reason. Just wanted to clarify. What department are you in?"  
  
"I specialize in the occult. I'm working on a case right now that is very interesting. Almost borders on an X-File." Monica added, her enthusiasm for her work evident in her voice.  
  
"X-File? How do you know about those?" he asked, strangely curious and somewhat puzzled that Monica had any knowledge of them at all.  
  
Monica was pleased to talk about Mulder's work with anyone, "I know a lot about Fox Mulder's work. I've used a lot of his past cases for research on some of the cases I've had to work on. There's a lot of remarkable coincidences in both fields."  
  
"That's very interesting." Follmer raised his eyebrow, "I had no idea Mulder was so well known."  
  
"How do you know of him?" Monica asked.  
  
"Oh we have some mutual acquaintances."  
  
"I see. Well, I should get back to work. Nice meeting you."  
  
"Yes, it was very nice indeed." he began to walk away and then stopped, "I know we only just met, but would you like to have lunch some time?"  
  
"I don't know." Monica hesitated, "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. If were going to be working together, it just doesn't seem appropriate."  
  
"It's just lunch. Not marriage." he said almost sarcastically, then smiled to cover it up.  
  
Monica paused and her friend from the office Sandy Miller chirped in, "Just go to lunch Monica. It's really not against policy to share a sandwich and some soup."  
  
She felt like she was being pushed into this just a little, but felt it couldn't hurt so she smiled slightly and nodded yes. He smiled back at her, "Great then, how about noon at the little diner on the corner."  
  
"I'll let you know if I can't make it. Never know where work will take me." Monica said, giving herself an out, just in case. "Sounds good. I look forward to seeing you." he replied before walking out of the office.  
  
Monica walked right over to Sandy's desk and stared at her until she stopped what she was doing, "What were you doing there?"  
  
Sandy gave her a slight smile, "What? He seems nice enough and you never go out. So I figured I would help you along."  
  
"Maybe I don't need any help." Monica said a bit louder than she meant, "Besides, I don't even know him."  
  
"Oh don't be silly. He's one of the good guys remember?"  
  
"I see, just because he wears a badge?" Monica said rolling her eyes, "Right, like there haven't been any creeps who worked for the FBI before."  
  
"Don't be a party pooper. Just have lunch. If you don't like him that's it. One meal and you move on." Sandy added bluntly, trying her best to get Reyes on a date.  
  
Monica rolled her eyes again at Sandy's friendly meddling, "I wish it were that easy. I still have to see him every day. It would be awkward if things didn't work out or if he had other expectations."  
  
"You think too much."  
  
"Maybe, but I just have a strange feeling about him. I can't put my finger on it though."  
  
"Sounds like a good start to me." Sandy smiled, "Beats having no feelings about someone don't you think?"  
  
"I did say strange feelings you know, not romantic feelings. You did catch that part right?" Monica said with a sarcastic smile.  
  
"Yes, yes Monica. Just have lunch and talk to me when it's over."  
  
"Fine, I will, but don't expect much." Monica said, constantly making sure Sandy didn't get her hopes up.  
  
"I've learned not to with you. You're just hard to find a date for."  
  
"Maybe you're just picking the wrong people."  
  
"I'm beginning to see that." Sandy questioned, wondering just why Monica was so hard to fix up.  
  
Monica didn't pay much attention to the last comment and went back to her desk to follow up a lead she was working on.  
  
As lunch time rolled around she was still debating whether to meet this guy for lunch or not, but she didn't have to make that choice as Brad walked in and promptly asked if she was ready to go.  
  
She had no time for excuses so she picked up her purse and they headed down to the diner.  
  
They both ordered and Brad sat across from Monica studying her face carefully, almost to the point of being a bit creepy, she thought.  
  
"So Monica, tell me a little about yourself?"  
  
"There isn't much to tell. I'm the only child of two wonderful parents. I grew up in New Jersey, but spent a lot of my childhood on a farm on Rhode Island. I went to Columbia University, got a bachelor's degree in criminal psychology as well as studying occult criminology. I then spent a year working for a British security firm and doing some part time consulting for their special unit section. I then applied to the FBI about 7 years ago and here I am."  
  
"That is a very impressive resume you have there." Follmer said with an appreciative smile, "But, I was really wondering more about your personal life as opposed to your professional one."  
  
"Oh, well, I'm still single if that's all your asking." Monica took a sip of water from the glass in front of her and continued to try and read Follmer and kept coming up blank.  
  
"No, not really." Follmer said and then changed the topic. "Anyway, how are you enjoying your time in the occult crimes division? Keeping you busy?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, yes. I've seen some truly amazing things and investigated some remarkable cases in my years here."  
  
"Now you mentioned the X-Files and Fox Mulder. I'm curious as to how much you know about them?" Follmer asked calmly.  
  
"I think Mulder's record speaks for itself. I realize not everyone is a believer in UFO's, but there is more than enough evidence to support the X- Files. There are so many cases that have no rational or scientific explanation. I've studied numerous of their cases and am fascinated by them all."  
  
"Yes, it is fascinating." he said, still not getting the answers he was looking for, "Have you ever met Mulder? Or his partner? I believe her name is Dana Scully?"  
  
"No I haven't." Monica said as she nibbled at her food. "I only know them by name. I did speak with Mulder on one occasion, but I doubt he even remembers it."  
  
Follmer was smiling the whole time and even when he was taking jabs at Mulder, he did it with such pleasure, "There are a lot of opinions about agent Mulder's state of mind, with some even believing he is more than a little unstable and that the X-Files should be closed. How do you feel about this?"  
  
"I've heard nothing like that. Everyone I've talked to has had a good opinion of him." she stopped and put her coffee down and stopped eating for a moment, "Why all the questions about Mulder anyway?"  
  
Follmer looked right at Monica and showed no emotion at all, "No reason. Just curious. I haven't met a lot of people who know of Mulder's work, that also think favorably about him. It's quite refreshing. Let's talk about something else."  
  
The rest of the lunch was very pleasant and they discussed a bunch of nothing topics and then both went back to work.  
  
It wasn't until about two weeks later that Follmer appeared at Monica's office and once again was in the assistant director's office and having yet another loud conversation. With yet the same result. Brad leaving in a huff and stopping by her desk, "I guess I should tell you the good news."  
  
Monica stopped what she was doing and looked up at Follmer, "What's that?"  
  
"I've just been given the assistant director's job of the NY bureau."  
  
Monica looked more than a little stunned by this and something just didn't feel right. She tried to muster up enough energy to say something nice, "I guess congratulations are in order."  
  
"Thank you." he said with a smiled, "It seems Parson is stepping down and they want me to take over. It's quite a break for me."  
  
"I imagine it would be. I'm sure you will do a good job." she added politely, yet not really meaning what she said.  
  
"Yes, I know I will." he said smugly, yet didn't even realize he was doing it. He walked back to his desk, had already packed up all his stuff and was sitting sorting through it when Ed came out with a couple boxes, looking anything like someone who had stepped down from his position voluntarily.  
  
He gave Brad a very nasty look and then smiled at the rest of the employees as he walked to the elevator. Monica watched as Brad grabbed his things and then walked in and put them on Parson's old desk and then walked out to the door and removed the Parson's name from it and quickly slid in the his own, Assistant Director Follmer, name plate all ready to go.  
  
As she watched Parson get on the elevator she turned and ran towards him and had him hold the door so she could talk to him. Once inside he let the door close and Monica looked over at him and said, "I can see that you didn't resign Ed, so what is going on?"  
  
"It's politics Reyes. It always is. Follmer has some very powerful allies and connections and he wanted this job and now he's got it." Parson said, trying not to get to down about this.  
  
Monica was visibly upset, "This isn't right though. You have so many years on the job. You're a great boss. I just want to do something that's all."  
  
"I appreciate that Reyes. I do. But, you can't fight what you can't see, and the people pulling the strings for Follmer our so high up even I don't know who they are."  
  
"I don't understand. He's fairly new here. How does he even qualify for your job?" Monica asked, wanting to know as much about Follmer as she could.  
  
"He doesn't have to." Parson said sharply, then lowered his voice and looked up at Monica, "Look Reyes, my advice to you is transfer out of this department before you get mixed up with that man. He's trouble. Mark my words."  
  
"I believe you. I do." Monica quickly agreed, knowing her first impressions about Follmer were coming true. "Now, is there anything I can do for you? Where are they transferring you to?"  
  
"I get a nice cushy job as head of the FBI's Alaska bureau, with a grand total of one office, 3 agents and at the present time, no active cases."  
  
"I wish you could fight this. I'm really sorry things turned out this way." Reyes added, "I hope you keep in touch though. I have a feeling Follmer won't be staying long. I think he has his sights even higher than this."  
  
"I think you're right. You take care Reyes; and watch your back." Ed Parson's got off the elevator and waved to Monica as he walked out the main doors of the lobby and Monica went back up to the office and went inside to talk to Follmer.  
  
After telling Follmer she didn't approve of his tactics Monica made it clear she was still interesting in going out with him. Just not for the reasons he suspected.  
  
Flashback ends.  
  
Scully walked out of the shower, saw Monica looking at something and moved in for a closer look. Monica heard Scully's footsteps and slid the picture into the drawer. She closed it, turned around and smiled at Scully. "You seemed lost in your thoughts there." Scully said as her hand brushed against Monica's arm, "I don't mean to pry, but did you want to tell me what you slid back into that drawer so fast?"  
  
Monica smiled and took the picture out of the drawer and sat it back on the desk and looked back at Scully, "My first instinct is to say no, but I don't want to keep anything from you either. So I might as well tell you the whole story about Follmer."  
  
"Follmer?" Scully asked with a surprise look on her face. "I know you and he had some kind of relationship. I didn't know there was a story there though? I'm a good listener though."  
  
Monica then told Scully everything about how they met and how she didn't trust me from the start and then she told him how she decided to date him in hopes to gather information on him.  
  
"You did what?" Scully said with yet another stunned look on her face, " Monica, first of all,that was very foolish and potentially dangerous if Follmer is mixed up in all this."  
  
"I know. I know. Okay." Monica said quickly, trying not to get defensive, "But, at the time he seemed so harmless, almost inept really. He was not in the FBI for his keen mind I can tell you that."  
  
Scully was intrigued by this new information, both that Monica didn't really date Brad and that she suspected him all along of being a bit shady, "Did you learn anything that seemed suspicious or might tie him to Krycek?"  
  
"That's what I'm trying to remember." Monica said as she tried to think of anything that might be useful, "He had a lot of meetings that I just couldn't gain access to. He was always meeting with foreign security personnel, dignitaries and high level politicians, but most of his business was done in very public places."  
  
"So is all this a dead end?" Monica racked her brain and finally came up with something, "There was one altercation he had with a man in the lobby of our main office, but I only heard about it from another agent. Apparently the man came in demanding to see Follmer and was told to leave and he got very belligerent and when Follmer came down to talk to the man the man assaulted Brad with his fists and then was escorted to our interrogation room."  
  
"I don't follow." Scully asked, trying to follow everything Monica was saying as best she could.  
  
"Well, the thing is the next day Follmer was sent on assignment to Russia again and that same man turned up dead. The cause of death was deemed accidental drowning, but there were many rumors that he was killed by Brad and that's why he left for Russia." Monica then walked over and grabbed an envelope aptly titled, Follmer and handed it to Scully.  
  
"Inside this envelope, I have pictures of a dozen or so of his contacts and known agents he did business with. Near the back are three photo's marked "unknown" and I was wondering if you knew any of these men?"  
  
Scully looked at all the photos and skimmed through the report on Follmer. She then took out the three pictures in the back and sat them on the table in a row. Her eyes lit up instantly and she grabbed the first one, "This is the bounty hunter. A shape shifter who I've had many close encounters with." she grabbed the next picture, "This is Jeremiah Smith, someone who has some special healing powers attributed to possible alien DNA as well. And this man is quite possibly the key figure in all of this. He's known as the cigarette smoking man and is thought to be dead, yet there has been no confirmation of this. Follmer is in this way deeper than I could have imagined. We need to get in touch with Skinner and get him this information."  
  
Monica was pleased that she'd kept all this information and even more so now that Scully could use it, "I was keeping this in hopes of one day being able to get enough evidence on him to put him away. But, I never got one piece of concrete evidence. Even these pictures don't prove anything. They show he knew these men, but someone quite likely has pictures of you and Mulder talking to them as well. So we need more. This only helps connect him to all that is going on."  
  
"That may be true, but Skinner needs to know he has to be careful in any future dealings with Follmer and we can't be giving him anymore vital information until we get to the bottom of this."  
  
"I agree." Monica said quickly, then moved closer to Scully, "I have a number of copies of these files as well for protection, so we can take this one to Skinner."  
  
Scully's eye's perked up when she saw how careful Monica had been, "Smart girl." "Thank you." Monica smiled. She then grabbed the folder, a briefcase from the floor and as the two women walked towards the door Monica's phone rang. She put the briefcase down and walked over to answer it, "Hello?"  
  
"Put Scully on."  
  
"Who is this?"  
  
"Just put Scully on if you want some information on William."  
  
Monica motioned for Scully to come over and then handed her the phone.  
  
"Scully here. Who is this?"  
  
"That's not important. I know your investigating the disappearance of your son. I have information regarding that. I will give said information for a price. Are you interested?"  
  
"I am not about to deal with some extortionist when I'm looking for my son."  
  
"I have no reason to lie about this." The man's voice said, "Okay, here is a sample of the information I have. Does the name Follmer mean anything to you? Or perhaps you know of an alien shape shifting bounty hunter? Or maybe even a man by the name of Alex Krycek? If so, you know I'm not just making this stuff up."  
  
"Just tell me what you know. No more games. A lot of people know of those men. I need facts and I'm in a hurry." Scully said impatiently.  
  
"I need to know I will get paid for this. If I turn on these men and they find out I'm a dead man."  
  
"I'm not sure what kind of salary you think I make, but I'm by no means a rich woman." Scully responded bluntly but honestly.  
  
"That's okay, get it from the FBI as an informant payoff. They do it all the time. I want $50,000 in unmarked bills and I will lead you to the man who kidnapped your son. I think that's more than a fair offer."  
  
"Whoever you are, you're doing a lot of talking and have produced not one thing so far. I need something to go on before I even think of going to my superiors with such a request."  
  
"Okay, okay. I'm sure by now you know it was Krycek who took your son. But, you don't know why or who he took the kid to. I do. The why is less important, the who is."  
  
Scully was beginning go get impatient, "Enough double talk. Spit out a name or I'm gone."  
  
"As far as I know he has no name. Everyone calls him, The Well-Manicured Man. I know it sounds odd, but that's all I've ever heard him referred to. He was presumed dead from all reports, but he's anything but. He's alive and well and is nothing like the 80 year old man he appears to be."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Scully said, acting as unimpressed as she could, "We've heard of him but he was just part of the conspiracy. I need proof he's alive. Proof of where he is and more importantly proof he has my son. Get that and we'll talk about money."  
  
"I have it."  
  
Scully had no choice but to agree to the meeting, "Fine. Meet me at the corner of 6th and Birch Street at the park. I'll be at the concession stand from 2 PM until 2:15, be there or all bets are off."  
  
"I'll be there." the voice said loudly and then hung up.  
  
"What is it?" Monica asked as she moved over to Scully and hung up the phone for her and then grabbed her shoulders and tried to snap her out of her daze.  
  
"What?" Scully said as her eyes began to focus and saw Monica staring at her intently, "I'm sorry. I just...this man says he has information as to who took William and why. I have to find out if he's telling the truth. I just don't want to get my hopes up to high in case this is just a hoax. I want to believe there is some hope though. I need to."  
  
"There is Dana. There is. Don't ever doubt that. We are going to find William." Monica put her arm around Dana and held her close.  
  
"You're right. I know we will." Scully looked down at her watch and saw that it was 8:35 AM so they had plenty of time to talk to Skinner and still make that meeting. "I don't know if we should tell Skinner about this meeting. He'll want to put us under surveillance and that could spook the guy."  
  
Monica listened carefully to Scully before responding, "Maybe, but if he's just there to get your money then we have to stop him. Skinner could provide the manpower for that."  
  
Scully realized she had no other choice, "I guess you're right. I just don't want to blow this."  
  
"We won't. Now let's get to the office and see what Skinner has learned."  
  
Scully nodded yes and they headed down to the car. The made their way to the bureau and up to Skinner's office and were shown in by his receptionist and both had a seat in front of his desk.  
  
Skinner looked up from a file he was reading, "I'm glad you're both here. We received some very disturbing information about Follmer and his connection to the Russian mob. It's no secret he has spent many years in Russia over the years, well it appears he was a very busy man while he was there. He apparently knew both Salionov and Sikovic extremely well and after checking into his background further we found it was all fake."  
  
"What?" Scully asked loudly. "How on earth is this possible? The FBI does the most thorough background checks of anyone. I don't see how he could slip through."  
  
"Neither do we at the moment, but, he did. We've also learned that he is actually the brother of Alex Krycek." Skinner said very matter of factly as he dropped the bombshell on the two women. 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five.  
  
Both women stared at Skinner, stunned at what they'd just heard. Skinner waited for some reaction, but soon decided to continue with his report, "I know this is a huge shock. It's not something the FBI is proud of. We've allowed an enormous security breach to climb up through high levels of this organization and now we have to put an end to it."  
  
"That's fine for later, but right now I need to know more about Follmer and his connection to Krycek and the people who have taken William." Scully said, still very tense and impatient about the lack of breaks they've been getting.  
  
"I realize that Scully, but we're just now learning of all this." Skinner then flipped through the large folder of papers on his desk and then pulled out one and handed it to Scully, "This is a picture of Follmer with Krycek, the cigarette smoking man, the bounty hunter. It was taken in 06/21/99 in Moscow. Now the reason this is important is that it was on that day that we had one of the worst security breach in US history as did our closest allies. All at once, like clockwork, the US embassy, the Russian secret service, the CIA office in Moscow and the British Secret Service office in Moscow were all raided by some type of super soldiers. They removed hundreds upon thousands of vital files and information, stole computers and killed hundreds of agents in the process. Now at the time we thought it was terrorism and were not even thinking of some possible alien threat, because quite honestly nobody took that seriously. Obviously we have changed our view on this in the past couple years."  
  
"How could an attack of this magnitude stay out of the press?" Monica asked, still not sure about what she was hearing.  
  
"You'd be amazed at what government's can do when it's in their best interest." Skinner said with a laugh, "Anyway, we were sent a video tape from a surveillance camera that was somehow missed by the intruders and only now coming to our attention. In it we see Follmer along with Krycek standing guard on the outside of our US embassy and have now issued a warrant for his and Krycek's arrest."  
  
"Wait!" Dana said loudly, "We need Follmer. He has to lead us to these men. The cigarette smoking man is using these people. He is the man in charge. We need Follmer and Krycek to lead us to him and find out what or who he is."  
  
Monica was standing right beside Scully and was quick to back Scully up, "I agree with Dana. I also think we need to do some DNA tests on Follmer and Krycek if we can, to determine if they are in fact human. I know it sounds far fetched, but there has to be some reason they are working with these suspected aliens. It's sounding more and more like there are more than one group of these so called aliens out there, perhaps with different agenda's."  
  
"That's quite possible agent Reyes." Skinner agreed then flipped through a couple more files on his desk, "There are many conflicting reports out there right now and we do need to find out who is who and just what their plans are. We also had a meeting just last night with all the major security agencies on how to best deal with this threat and the question came up about what to do with them if we in fact catch them. There are no laws that govern possible alien prisoners. It's just not something anyone thought they'd ever have to deal with. So there is a lot of concern about how to get laws in place that won't cause wide spread panic, since the public will then know or will suspect that we have some kind of alien threat on our hands."  
  
"I understand that." Scully said softly, "And I don't mean to minimize all these concerns, but I have to concentrate on finding my son first. Is there anything you can tell me about why someone would take my son when he was cleared of having any alien DNA in him?"  
  
"I was getting to that." Skinner again was sifting through the files and papers on his desk looking for something, "We believe you were given false information. We also believe that the cigarette smoking man is either an alien or he is filled with alien DNA, which would mean Mulder has that same DNA in him, which would then mean if Mulder is the father of the child, he to has it in him as well. Now the reason they want the child is still unclear. We are however working non stop to try and find him."  
  
"This is getting ridiculous." Scully stood up and shook her head, "These tests were conducted by our own FBI labs. How could there be a mistake? Again I might add."  
  
Skinner focused on getting as much information to Scully as he could, "The general consensus is Follmer was in on it. He did have access to the test results and was aware of the date and time you were to have them done."  
  
"I can't believe this. How are we supposed to believe that Follmer is the only one who slipped past FBI screening? For all we know half the department could be part alien." Scully threw her arms in the air in disgust.  
  
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Skinner said, trying to keep things moving, "I know you're angry and you have every right to be. But, we our in the process of doing DNA testing on every employee of the FBI, CIA and even every politician. If we get our way we will be testing every citizen as well."  
  
"That'll take forever. I need answers now." Scully got up and was about to walk out the door and Monica got up and stopped her.  
  
"We should tell him about this meeting. I feel we can trust him. I think we need backup on this."  
  
Scully was not feeling very trustworthy at the time and fought the urge to agree to this as long as she could, but something about the way Monica was looking at her with so much concern and compassion changed her mind, "Fine. I know you're right Monica. You set up the details with Skinner. I need to get some fresh air." Scully then walked out the door and took the elevator to the main floor lobby.  
  
She walked outside, took a deep breath of the fresh air and just started walking down the sidewalk. She continued on to the park where a group of children were playing. She couldn't help but smile at how happy they looked and how much fun they were having, but it also made her think of how William is just about ready to enjoy parks just like this and how she wanted the opportunity to bring him to a park just like this one day.  
  
She sat on a bench and just watched the kids play for about 15 minutes. Soon her mind was racing through so many thoughts and emotions and she began to think back to the conversation she had this morning with the man who said he had information on William's whereabouts and she began to hear his voice over and over in her head and it something clicked. She recognized the voice. She knew it from somewhere.  
  
She closed her eyes and tried to block out all other sounds and concentrate on the sound of that voice and just then her eyes opened wide and she stood up with a huge smile on her face and ran back to get Monica.  
  
As she ran towards the main lobby a van came flying around the corner, two men jumped out, grabbed Scully and pulled her inside and it took off, squealing violently as it did.  
  
Monica had just come out to talk to Scully and saw the tail end of her being taken away and had pulled out her gun, but knew she couldn't do a thing for fear of hitting Scully or an innocent bystander.  
  
Reyes told two agents who had just pulled in to follow that van. She then called Skinner, gave a description of the van and told him what had just taken place and got in her car and began the pursuit as well.  
  
The van with Scully inside, was moving at well over 100 MPH and had increased it's lead on the agent following them and it was quite obvious this was no ordinary van. The van headed straight towards the peer and did not slow down one bit as it came to the edge and soon it was flying through the air over the water. As it did, some kind of landing gear was released and the car tires disappeared back up under the hubcaps. When it landed, it didn't go into the water, but instead, floated on the surface. After gaining it's balance from the impact, it was soon speeding off towards the ocean with the agents and  
  
Monica, standing at the peer, looked on. She was quick to get back in her car, grabbed her cell and called Skinner. "Skinner, it's Monica. Scully's gone. You need to call the coast guard. The van was some kind of all terrain vehicle, and it went from the peer to the water without missing a beat. We can still see the van but it's going to be out of our range soon."  
  
"I'm on it. We'll find her Monica. Head over to the coast guard's office on peer 22. I will have them take you with them on the search."  
  
"Alright. I'm on my way." Monica was trying to stay calm and not panic or let her emotions take over, but it was just so different when she was so personally involved with Scully and her child. She wiped the tears away as she drove up to the coast guard's office and was told to get onboard the very large ship at the end of the dock and she ran towards it and climbed aboard and they took off in a hurry and headed off towards where the van was last seen.  
  
There was a report called in that the van was spotted coming to shore just around the bend. Monica called the information into the FBI and people from all over the area mobilized and put an alert out for the vehicle.  
  
Monica was inside the cabin and looking out the large window and spotted the van trying to climb onto land from the water but it seemed stalled or was having trouble getting the water gear put away so the tires could come back out. They caught up to it within a minute and there were FBI cars all around the front of it and as the coast guard cutter pulled up alongside the van Monica grabbed the bullhorn and told the people inside the van to come out with their hands in the air.  
  
There was no movement for a couple minutes and then someone opened the side door, held up their hands and said they were coming out. Two men stepped into the water and then were grabbed and taken to the ground by the numerous agents and they pulled out the wallets of both men and read the names off to Monica.  
  
"This one has a Russian passport and his name is, Alexei Salionov. The other also has a Russian passport and his name is, Vladimir Salionov. Do you know them agent Reyes?" the man asked.  
  
Monica made her way down the side of the cutter and walked over to the van to look for Scully. She looked inside and was so relieved to see Scully sitting in a corner, hands tied up and mouth covered with tape, but still alive. She raced inside, untied her and Scully ripped the tape from her mouth and pulled her into a very long, very tender hug. After a couple minutes, they walked through the water and onto the shore.  
  
Scully walked up to the agents who were holding the two men, "Take these two back to headquarters. We'll follow and interrogate them later. Oh and keep them separate. Don't let them talk to each other or anyone else until we get there."  
  
Scully and Reyes were driven back to the peer, where they got back into Reyes' car and drove back to the bureau.  
  
Once inside, Reyes went into the room with Vladimir while Scully took Alexei and they each sat down and began to interview the two men.  
  
The initial interview was filled with double talk and refusals to talk and neither was saying a thing. Scully got up and went to get Monica. They walked into a small room across the hallway and Scully shook her head, "I think we should let them know that their brother or relative Igor is dead. It might make them more willing to talk. If they think someone has double crossed them and they might be next it just might be enough to get them talking."  
  
"It's worth a try. I'm going to go find out if Skinner has found any information on these two. You go back, talk to Alexei, and see what he says. If I find anything important I'll let you know."  
  
Scully nodded and watched Monica walk down the hall and she took a breath and walked back in and sat down across from Alexei and pulled out a report that confirmed Igor's death and there was an immediate reaction by Alexei and Dana used this as an opportunity to use this emotion to get him to talk. "Was Igor your brother?"  
  
The man was obviously upset and was still not willing to say a thing.  
  
"Fine. Let me talk then. You can listen and tell me if I'm wrong." Scully said as she stood up and began to walk in a circle around Alexei. "Here's what I think happened. You and your brothers were either working with or for two men named Krycek and Follmer. When Igor got greedy or got cold feet they killed him and now you two know your next."  
  
Still no reaction from the man.  
  
"Okay then. Well, I'm still not clear on why you tried to kidnap me. I'm not who they want." as soon as she said it she began to see what they were doing, "You weren't taking me to them were you? I think you were going to use me as leverage, to get the FBI to help you. You are both afraid for your lives and think the only way to get protection is to bargain for it."  
  
"You don't know what your talking about." he said as he sat back in his chair and tried to look away.  
  
"Really?" Scully asked, knowing she had hit a nerve, "Well, I would disagree. If I'm wrong, why did you try and kidnap me then?"  
  
"It does not matter. We failed. We will accept the punishment."  
  
"I see. I'm starting to think you also might have wanted to get caught. Perhaps even prison is a safer place to be than on the streets with Krycek on the loose."  
  
Alexei began to get even more nervous, "I want a lawyer."  
  
"Do you? What if he gets you off? Then what?" Scully watched the man as he fumed, yet still refused to talk.  
  
"How about this." Scully offered, "I'm not going to press charges. You're free to go. When Krycek finds out you were here and then released he just might think you talked. Anyway, I sure wouldn't want to be you."  
  
The man sat there trying to remain somewhat calm and as Scully got up and grabbed the door knob he stood up, "Wait! You can't do this. I committed a crime. You have to arrest me!"  
  
"No, I don't think we do." Scully said with a smile, "I thought you were just driving me to the beach. I appreciated the ride. You can go. If you think life on the streets is better than just a simple talk with me than you'll get your wish."  
  
"I don't know anything. Honest. We were hired by Krycek to do some small time crimes. We laundered money for him. We sent out false information to people on the streets. We would create diversions for his people and keep any security or police in an area busy so he and his men could do a job more freely. But, we do not know who he works for or what his plans are."  
  
"Perhaps you don't, but I think you know more than you've told me." Scully said and then leaned in close to Alexei, "Now, my son is missing and I'm getting very impatient with you. If you know anything about this it would be wise to let me know before I actually get angry."  
  
Alexei was getting very anxious and the fear of facing Krycek's wrath was not sitting well with him all of a sudden, "Listen to me. They will kill me if I talk. You've seen what they do. My brother is dead. My friend Boris is dead. We are next."  
  
"We can provide you with protection. Your best protection is helping us catch them so they don't pose a threat to you anymore."  
  
"I don't know. How can we trust you?" Alexei asked nervously.  
  
"I'm giving you my word. I want my son back. I'll make sure you're both safe." Scully promised, "Now help me or I'm out of here."  
  
After pondering Scully's request for less than a second he sat forward very willing to cooperate, "Okay, okay. We helped do reconnaissance for Krycek when he abducted your son. We learned your work patterns. When the best time would be to take him. Everything. But, we did not know why he wanted the child. He only said the child was vital to his plan."  
  
"What plan?" Scully asked, "Be more specific with these details."  
  
The man looked noticeably irritated by the question, "You don't ask a lot of questions from a guy like Krycek you know? I don't even know if he's human."  
  
Scully was very intrigued by this last comment, "What? Why do you say that?"  
  
"I've seen him get shot more than once now. I've seen him get burned in a fire. I've seen him be injected with poison and survive it all. I've seen him when he had this black liquid flowing in his blood. In his eyes . Everywhere. It was just not normal. It was creepy." Alexei said, his face all contorted from talking about Krycek.  
  
"Who else did you see with this liquid in their body?"  
  
"The other man, Follmer, oh and their boss. I don't know his name."  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"I don't know." he said, throwing his arms up in frustration, "They are very careful to move locations almost weekly. They are the most paranoid and yet thorough people I've met. Nothing is left to chance."  
  
"Give me some of their known locations. We can try and find a pattern to their movements at least."  
  
"Fine. I can do that." Alexei willingly agreed and began to talk, "I only know of three. All at different sections of the city. Usually underground. Usually in a place nobody would think of looking. Schools, banks, churches it doesn't matter. The underground in this city is like a mini city really. I don't think many people know this."  
  
Scully smiled at her earlier trip through one section of the underground, "I've got some idea of it now. You must have overheard some conversations that might be helpful. I need more information."  
  
"Half of what they talked about made no sense to us." he added, looking very confused about much of what he saw and heard, "They talked about harvests. They talked about energy supplies running low. They talked about underground mining. None of it seemed all that sinister."  
  
"Maybe not at the time, but trust me when I say they are more dangerous than you will ever know and if we don't stop them many people will die. I'm talking everyone."  
  
"I'm telling you everything I know. What else do you want?" he pleaded.  
  
Scully wasn't done yet and would not give up until she got something more, "What do you know about Follmer?"  
  
"Just that he's a high placed FBI official. I've only seen him a couple times. Usually with Krycek. They both were highly volatile people. They took orders from only one man. The old guy who never stopped smoking. He was only around a couple times, but, he did seem to keep them in line."  
  
"We do know of him." Scully acknowledged, "Listen, you mentioned this black liquid. Do you know where they keep it? Or anything about it?"  
  
"I've seen them take it from small vials they keep in this locked portable safe. Not sure how many vials are in there, but I'd guess about 30 or so. That's just in the one place. I would assume they have some all over the world. They guard it like it's gold so I knew it was important, just not why."  
  
Scully relaxed and walked towards the door, but turned back to face Alexei, "One last question. Have you ever seen others with this black liquid in their eyes?"  
  
"Just one man. He was having a meeting with Krycek, Follmer and the smoking guy and they were sure not agreeing on something. I was surprised they let him go really. Anyone else who argued or didn't agree with them usually ended up dead."  
  
Scully felt she finally had a lead to work with, "Describe him."  
  
"I guess he was average height, 50-55 years old. He seemed familiar, like I'd seen him on TV or something. He looked like a politician really, silver hair, expensive suits, the obviously fake smile. Whoever he was, they didn't like him and he didn't like them."  
  
"Did you catch a name at all? First? Last?" Scully questioned, wanting as much information as possible to work with.  
  
"Let me think." the man was searching for a name and finally he remembered something very important, "Actually he may have been a Senator. Yes that's where I remember seeing him. He had commercials out all during the election year. I couldn't stand him though. Matheson was his name."  
  
"Richard Matheson?"  
  
"Yes, that's him." Scully felt a rush of adrenaline flowing through her blood, and it was just what she needed. "Okay. If these leads pan out I will see to it that you get set up in the witness protection program. Assuming you have no murder charges or convictions on your rap sheet."  
  
"Of course not. What about my brother?"  
  
"That's up to him. If he helps us he will get the same deal you did."  
  
"I already told you everything." Alexei said yet again.  
  
Scully turned to Alexei with a smile, "No, you told me everything you know. Your brother may have additional information. And he needs to show us he is willing to help."  
  
"Let me talk to him first." he said, actually assuming this would happen.  
  
"If he doesn't come through we will give you one meeting with him. Right now, I have to go see how my partner is doing with him. I'll be back." Scully got up and took her notes with her and walked back out into the corridor and walked over to see if Monica was back interrogating Vladimir and was happy to see that she was and turned on the speaker and listened to what was going on.  
  
"I told you before I wasn't going to talk." the man kept saying it over and over again.  
  
Scully walked over to the door and opened it and motioned for Reyes to come outside and Reyes got up and came out to talk to Scully. "I think I know a way to get him to talk. His brother just gave us some very interesting information. I'm not even sure if this one knows anything more than what his brother told us, but they do want to stay in custody and are afraid of what Krycek and company will do to them if they are let back on the streets, so we tell him he's free to go. That worked with his brother."  
  
"It's worth a try." Reyes walked back into the room and Scully watched from the window as the man's face turned from stone cold defiance to fear in a millisecond. About 15 minutes later Reyes emerged from the room with a notepad filled with information and the two women then headed back to Skinner's office.  
  
Inside they briefed Skinner on the information they had learned from the two brothers, including the one new piece that Monica managed to get from Vladimir.  
  
"Depending on how credible this information is it could be quite valuable. He said he overheard Krycek talking about the next location move and said it was to a small warehouse on the south side. He even gave the name of the warehouse. Possum & Barnett's Fine Wine's."  
  
"I'll check into that and get a team ready." Skinner said as he waved his hand at an agent close by, then turned back to the two women, "We did uncover some minor criminal convictions for both men. Some break & enter a couple assaults, but nothing major. They are both from Russia and are here on illegal work visa's. The only other interesting piece of information we discovered was they both have vast chemistry backgrounds. We believe they were hired to work on a formula for the black liquid. If this is the case there is still a lot they haven't told us."  
  
"Reyes and I have to meet a source at 2, so you see if you can get anything else out of these two and let us know if you do. After the meeting we will go check out that warehouse as well" Scully said then was ready to take off.  
  
"Should I know about this meeting?" Skinner asked, not pleased to be left out of loop on what the agents were up to.  
  
"Not right now." Scully snapped then took Skinner aside, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that. Right now were in a very tense situation and the less you know about the better. There is no need for you to get caught in the middle of this. I'll tell you where the meeting is just in case something goes wrong, but I do not want any agents within a mile of the actual location. Not until I know about my son."  
  
Skinner looked around the room, leaned down and began whispering in Scully's ear, "I either follow procedure on this or it will have to be done in an unofficial capacity."  
  
"Meaning what exactly?" "I do have some men I trust that can be off duty at around the same time this meeting is and just happen to be in the vicinity and that way you're covered without the cars and sirens getting in the way."  
  
"Okay, that sounds good. Here's the location, but please make sure they are discreet and do not make any moves until I give a signal." Scully asked with a sense of relief at Skinner's suggestion.  
  
"Will do. I will have them contact you when they get in position."  
  
"Thanks Skinner." Scully said warmly and then walked back out and she and Reyes left the building, got in a new car and headed out to the meeting. 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six.  
  
During the ride to the meeting Monica looked over and could tell Scully was still very nervous and anxious and tried to think of a way to somehow relax her and get her head clear so she was in a good state of mind to even take this meeting.  
  
She was keeping one eye on the road and another on Dana and yet still hadn't come up with one thing to say to her. She finally stopped trying to be clever and just said what was on her mind, "Were going to get William back Dana."  
  
Scully looked back at Monica, put her hand on her arm and smiled at her, "Thanks. I know we will. It's just hard knowing he's somewhere scared and alone and who knows what they might be doing to him. God, this has to be over soon. This tip has to pan out."  
  
"We have so much information now and it's all coming together. We will find William and bring him home to where he belongs and that I know. Every instinct I have is telling me were this close to finding out about who has William and why he was taken and just what part do all these men play in this whole alien conspiracy. This is coming to a head and were going to be there when it does." Monica added as she smiled back at Dana.  
  
Scully was so happy to hear Monica's scenario about how things were going to turn out and it did keep her mind more focused as well, "I admire your confidence Monica. I do believe I will be with William again and I hate to doubt that and when I do it's so reassuring to have you here keeping my spirits up. I hope you know how much you mean to me. Everything you've done for me. I just wanted you to know that no matter what happens I will never forget how much help you've been to me. I do want to make it up to you when this is over."  
  
Monica had a twinkle in her smile as she looked back at Dana, "I like the sound of that. What did you have in mind?"  
  
Scully actually had a smile come over her face and she looked right at Monica, "Well, I keep having this dream about a beautiful island with sandy beaches and palm trees all around. You and I lying in the sun getting a gorgeous bronze tans over every inch of our bodies and drinking pinacalotas until the sun goes down and then spending the nights making love under the moonlight."  
  
Monica was smiling at Scully very descriptive suggestion and she was quite unhappy that she was driving right now, because she would have loved to just lean over and kiss her and thank her for such a great offer, but she had to wait on the kiss for now, "That sounds like paradise to me. I would love to join you on any island anywhere. Just say the word and I'm there."  
  
"I was hoping you would say that. Well that gives us another thing to look forward to when this whole mess is over. I really can't wait to do this with you." Scully was finally able to have a brief moment of happiness before her cell phone brought her back to reality. She pulled it out of her purse and held it up to her ear, "Scully here."  
  
"It's Skinner. We have some more information on that warehouse Vladimir told you about. It is listed as being owned by a company called, Tripera Inc. That in itself means very little, but we did some checking and the two major stockholders in Tripera Inc. are none other than Krycek and the cigarette smoking man. The company owns literally thousands of smaller companies, mostly in the chemical engineering field, with a handful having no real description. The company in question, Possum & Barnett's Fine Wine's, is not what it appears to be. We have reason to believe it is a chemical processing plant that is currently being used to create the black liquid."  
  
"How come we didn't know about this before?" Scully wondered. "Mainly because it was a part of the investigation Follmer was in charge of. We now have all his records and are sifting through them as we speak. We have sent a team to this warehouse and I will let you know what we find." Skinner paused to talk to someone else in the room before continuing. "I just was informed that we had a sighting of Krycek just 15 minutes ago in the general vicinity of your meeting. I want you two to be very careful. Krycek has to be aware that his freedom is all but over and that makes him an even more dangerous man than usual."  
  
"Okay, thanks again for the update. We'll be on high alert. Were almost at the address for this meeting now so we are going to park the car and walk from here." Scully added and was about ready to hang up. Skinner managed to catch her before she did, "One last thing, those men I sent to give you some backup are in place and will be ready to move in on your signal should anything go wrong."  
  
"Alright. Well were off now so I will talk to you later and hope to have some more information when we do." Skinner wished them luck and Dana put her phone back in her purse and the two women got out of the car and slowly made their way down Birch Street and looked for a concession stand and saw one right on the corner beside a hot dog vendor and a phone booth.  
  
As they got closer, they saw a man with gray hair sitting alone on a bench looking around very erratically.  
  
When they got close enough they could tell it was Senator Richard Matheson. But was he the one who called them or was it just a coincidence? They needed to find out.  
  
They walked up to him, sat down at his table and waited for him to say something and thankfully he did.  
  
"I'm glad you made it." he was very nervous and constantly looking around, "Look, Krycek is after me. I told him I wanted out and he didn't take if very well. I want money. I want protection and I want immunity from any prosecution and I will tell you everything about Krycek and his plans."  
  
"We are not in a position to agree to your demands. I need to know everything you do and then we can talk." Scully was being honest but knew he would not be happy about this.  
  
"You better find someone who can give me what I want. Time is running out. If Krycek succeeds the whole world will be affected, and not for the better I might add. You have no idea what he plans on doing, and your son is part of this. A big part."  
  
Scully's whole demeanor changed after his last comments, "What are you talking about? Tell me what you know about my son? Now!!"  
  
"I can't. I'm sorry. I need protection first. Take me to someone who can make these deals. I will tell you then. We do not have much time." his face was dead serious and he was not going to budge until he felt safe.  
  
Monica leaned over toward Dana, "Look, let's just take him to Skinner and maybe he will feel safe there and he can tell you something while they try and negotiate with him."  
  
Scully knew it was her only chance so they took him by the arm and led him back to the car.  
  
As they got close to the car, they saw Krycek standing beside it smiling at them.  
  
They didn't have much time to think. Monica told Dana to take Matheson to Skinner and she would take care of Krycek.  
  
Scully argued at first, but when Krycek started moving forward, she told Monica to be careful and then took off with the Senator. Monica took out her gun and Krycek backed off just enough to give Dana a chance to escape. She tried to talk to him and stall some more, "Looks like your caught Krycek. So why not just tell me what you were planning. I'm sure it was something spectacular."  
  
"Oh it is. I say it because it will happen." Krycek began slowly moving in a circle around Monica, "You can try and stop me but it won't work. Shoot me. I don't mind. I'm well past fearing death. You won't be able to do a thing about what happens next."  
  
Monica was keeping her eye out for any of Krycek's associates and trying to stay focused and do her best to get Krycek to slip up somehow and say anything that might help them, "You sound pretty confident. I think you underestimate the will of us humans. Whatever you have planned will not go without a fight."  
  
Krycek laughed at Monica and took a couple steps closer, took out a vial from his jacket pocket and held it up for her to see, "Do you know what this is?"  
  
Monica took one look and then turned her head away, "Well it looks like you were peeing in glass to me. I figured it would be black though, coming from you that is."  
  
"Very amusing, but no. It had no name as of yet. So it's not FDA approved my any means, but what it is will change the world. Yes, the whole world, and no it's not some death pill. Believe it or not, it's not even about taking over the world like I'm sure you and your FBI buddies want to believe. It's much more human than that. It's about money."  
  
"That's almost typical. People have died. So any possible financial reward you think you might get from this is not going to happen. Not when you're behind bars." Monica said, thinking everything would be so much better if they could just get Krycek out of the picture.  
  
Krycek laughed yet again and moved even closer, "Do you really think a prison can hold me? Have you not seen these super soldiers? They don't die. They are invincible. Well, that's just the tip of the iceberg." once again he paused and tried to get closer to Monica, but she kept her distance, "Oh do you think you would be safe if I wanted you dead? Right now, you're the least of my concerns. Just to show you there are no hard feelings I'm willing to let both you and Scully and hey even Mulder and Doggett and maybe even good old Skinner have a chance to get in on this. I don't hold grudges."  
  
"You're crazy if you think any of us would have anything to do with you now. Besides, you're not the boss. You're just a little flunky for the cigarette smoking man." Monica said in a very condescending voice.  
  
"Oh, you're trying to provoke me. I wouldn't do that if I were you." he said as the smile left his face and a nasty sneer replaced it, "But fact is, I work for myself. He has his agenda and I have mine."  
  
"I just bet." Monica said with disgust, "But, you have to admit he's pretty good at what he does. He's lasted what, 60, 70 years now? I think when he feels you have served your purpose you will end up dead like all the others he's used before you."  
  
"Again, you're misinformed Reyes. He isn't 60 or 70 or 90. Nope. He's over 120 years old." he said, getting as much enjoyment from her look of disbelief than anything else.  
  
"You're lying. We have his birth certificate. He worked with Skinner for years. No way he's that old." Monica snapped back, not wanting to believe what he was saying. It just made no sense.  
  
"Well, believe what you want. It is true and this little black liquid is part of that. Oh yes, you have no idea the uses of this wonderful product." Krycek added, much like that of a salesman pitching his new product.  
  
"Why not inform me then. Maybe I would be interested. So it's an anti- aging liquid is it? I can't say that doesn't appeal to me in some small way. How much do you have to drink for this to work?" Reyes questioned, hoping for the slightest slip from Krycek.  
  
"I'm sorry, that's confidential at the moment." Krycek grinned, "I just don't feel you're really interested Agent Reyes. You're just trying to kill time so Scully can get some information from that low life Matheson. Which is fine. I'd do the same thing myself. But, he's useless. His information is second hand. He's just not going to be what Dana needs. I on other hand know exactly where William is right this minute."  
  
Monica wasn't sure what to do about this but the more information she got from him the better it was, so she played along, "I love how you call him a low life. That's hilarious. Coming from such an upstanding citizen as yourself. Now as for William, if you took him you can add kidnapping to your list of charges."  
  
"I don't like to think of it as kidnapping really. I prefer to think of it as insurance. William is different from other little boys. Whatever Scully was told was wrong. The one thing your people are not aware of is that alien DNA does not start to grow inside a human for over 10 years. So he will seem normal until then. The day is alien DNA takes affect it won't hurt him. He will be the same boy he is now, only stronger. If he is given the right black liquid he could achieve greatness of epic proportions."  
  
Monica looked at Krycek as if he'd lost his mind, but could not totally discount what he was saying without some proof and if he was telling the truth at all, Scully's little boy would become a project the government would never let go of.  
  
"Krycek, I don't know if any of this is true. I don't. I've seen no evidence. The so called, 'super soldiers' could be explained in any number of ways. Listen, it's been nice talking to you but I really have to be going now." Monica said as she backed up a little a time.  
  
Krycek didn't try and stop her and just watch as she took off running, but did give her something to think about as he appeared in front of her just moments after she started running away.  
  
She stopped, turned around to where he was standing and then looked back to where he was and he was gone again. She turned around again and he was directly in front of her smiling smugly as she backed away again.  
  
Krycek laughed, then stopped and calmly looked at Reyes, "You see Monica, this liquid does things you can't begin to comprehend right now. We're only just now learning some of the other benefits of this liquid."  
  
Monica couldn't explain how he seemed to be able to move so fast and be in two places at once but she had to believe there was a logical explanation for it, "Yep, that was a nice little illusion you pulled off, but I have no time for your tricks right now. We'll meet again and you will be going to jail. So enjoy your last few hours Krycek."  
  
He just laughed as she got in a cab and took off.  
  
She arrived at FBI headquarters about 20 minutes later and was taken to where Scully was interviewing Matheson. Walking up to Skinner, she told him about her conversation with Krycek. He knocked on the door where Scully was and called her out. Monica then told Scully the same thing and she was trying to take it all in as best she could.  
  
"Matheson hasn't said much so far because he's not getting all the guarantee's he wants, but he has said enough to believe he could have some valuable information. After hearing what you told me about Krycek, I wonder if it's worth negotiating with him any further."  
  
Monica listened intently to Scully talk and was quick to add her thoughts on this topic, "I don't know. Krycek has no fear of being caught right now. None. He feels invincible and right now he may be right. Something is obviously going to happen in the next few days that can either make or break a lot of what Krycek has planned and if Matheson knows about it, he could still be useful."  
  
Skinner was handed a piece of paper and he spent a minute or two reading it and then handed it to Scully and she read it out loud, "It is regrettable that we have to inform you that the special unit you sent to check out the Possum & Barnett's Fine Wine's warehouse were all killed. 8 dead."  
  
"OMG. We have to stop these people. Now!" Scully said loudly as she handed the piece of paper back to Skinner and walked back into the room with Matheson.  
  
She stared at him silently, letting him see how angry she was before she decided to speak, "Okay, we just had an agent come back after having an extensive conversation with Krycek and he told us more in 5 minutes than you have the whole time you've been here. Now I'm running out of patience with you. We just got word that 8 of our agents were killed by these super soldiers and you might have been able to prevent this had you told us what you know. What keeps coming to my mind with people such as yourself is we have no reason to hold you here. None. If you think you can get a better deal with Krycek then go for it. For now you are free to leave."  
  
Matheson's face went whiter than usual and he looked at Scully with a pleading look coming over his face, "You can't do that. I am turning myself in. I want protection. You have to give it to me. It's your job."  
  
"No it isn't. We protect those who INFORM us of things. You have not. You have done nothing but stall. Trying to get more and more out of your so called deal. That's over now. We offered you way more than you deserve. You just got greedy. Now you blew it. We will stop Krycek, with or without your help." Scully got up to leave and Matheson grabbed her arm.  
  
She gave him a very dirty look and he let go, "I'm sorry. You know I can't go back on the street with Krycek on the loose. This is blackmail. The FBI does not work this way. I have information and I will give it to you. I accept your last offer. So where do I start talking?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. You rejected our last offer. The new one is the original one. Take it or leave it."  
  
He was extremely annoyed and wanted to walk out that room but he wasn't completely stupid and he agreed to the deal and so Scully handed Matheson over to Skinner who then had him taken to the main interrogation room and they would film and record the whole thing and see what he had to say.  
  
Scully and Reyes went down to the cafeteria and had some coffee as Dana waited patiently for this interview to be over so she might have some concrete information to work with.  
  
Reyes was slowly drinking her coffee wondering what to say to ease Scully's mind but there were no words to speed the process so she put her hand over Scully's and smiled back at her, "We are getting close Dana. I can feel it." Reyes stood up and motioned for Dana to come with her.  
  
Monica led her down to the basement and down a long corridor until she came to a door that simply read, "Greenhouse."  
  
She took out a card key and inserted it in the slot, the door opened and the two women stepped inside.  
  
Dana smiled as she looked around the room. It was the size of a small house filled with every type of flower she could imagine and along with the hundreds upon hundreds of different flowers were just as many different plants that she'd never seen before.  
  
The lab was designed to create everything from chemical weapons to antidotes for them. It had numerous other uses, but it also served as a place for agents to go to just relax and smell the flowers literally. Dana was smiling as she walked through the many long isles filled with every flower known to exist. Monica walked up to meet her from the other end of the isle and they stopped in the middle where Monica took Dana's hand and pulled her close, "I like it when you smile. You have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen."  
  
"Well I tend to smile when I'm happy and you help make me happy and for that I thank you. So much." "I want to do this. I want you to be happy and I know you will be when this is all over and we find William and can get your life back again."  
  
"Oh god I want that so much." Scully smiled, and let out a huge sigh of relief at the very idea of getting her son back. Then she looked at Monica and smiled, "I know we haven't had a chance to talk much since, well, since we spent the night together, but I want you to know that was very special to me. I also want you to know that I want you to be a part of my life once this is over. Part of our lives, William's and mine. I hope you know this."  
  
Monica's eyes lit up and then began to tear up and she just put her arms around Dana and hugged her tightly. After a very long time, Dana pulled back, held Monica's head up and smiled back at her, "I hope this means you want to be part of our lives?"  
  
Monica smiled and gave Dana a quick kiss, "Oh yes. I'd love that. I just want you to be happy."  
  
Dana kissed her back, "I will be if you're in my life."  
  
"Then we're both going to be very happy." Monica kissed Dana again but, Scully's cell phone interrupted them again.  
  
She took it out of her purse and put it to her ear, "Scully here."  
  
"Scully, we've made a deal with Matheson. He's given us a wealth of information about Krycek and Follmer along with the last known location of their chemical labs. We're going to send a team there now. Do you and Reyes want to join us?" Skinner asked. "Actually I want to have 5 minutes alone Matheson. Is that possible?"  
  
"I don't see why not. He's given us a lot so I don't know what more you're looking for."  
  
"I think he knows more about Krycek's plans and his whereabouts. Even though he's cut a deal I think if he feels like he's protected he might cough up something else we could use."  
  
"Alright then. I'll set it up."  
  
Scully closed her cell, put it back in her purse and told Monica of the latest developments and they both headed back to the interrogations rooms.  
  
Skinner came off the elevator along with Matheson and two armed guards with him. He led Matheson into the room and told Scully she had 15 minutes and then he was going to be taken away for reorientation for his new identity. Scully thanked Skinner, walked into the room and sat across from Matheson.  
  
"Well, I'll make this brief." Scully said bluntly and then leaned in and grabbed Matheson by his bright red tie, "I need the most current information you have on Krycek and Follmer."  
  
"Take it easy. I've told you guys everything I know."  
  
"I don't think so. I think you're holding out just in case you need to make another deal. Well that's fine, but I need to find Krycek now. He has my child and this can't wait."  
  
"I'm sorry he took your son. I said that was a bad idea. But Krycek listens to nobody."  
  
"That's nice, but where is he?" Scully was growing increasingly impatient with Matheson and he could feel it.  
  
"Look, all's I know is they are in the final stages of testing alien DNA and if it all goes according to plan they will have enough black liquid to create more than just super soldiers. I'm talking super doctor's, lawyer's, businessmen. Literally everything. I told Skinner all this. He has the location of this lab now."  
  
"Okay, but I need to know where Krycek might be now. You must have some idea." Scully continued to push Matheson until he gave her something useful.  
  
"I can give you a couple places he likes to hang out when he's not working. One is the Shaker's Pub on East 43rd street near the old cemetery. He also likes to enjoy the scenery at, "Kitty's Playground," a strip joint down on Mulberry Street. Those are the only two places I've seen him at more than once, outside of his apartment, but he rarely goes there."  
  
"Thanks for the names, but you might as well give me his address just so we can check it out."  
  
"It's also on the east side. A very seedy part of town and with his money it's hard to understand why he stays there, but the address is apartment number #545, 234, 40th street. Only blocks away from Shaker's Pup."  
  
"If any of these leads pan out I'll make sure it's passed along to the right people."  
  
Scully walked out of the room with a sense of hope and let Monica know what she learned and the two of them took off.  
  
Once inside the car the two women mulled over the options and decided to check out Shaker's Pub first.  
  
The drive was no more than 10 minutes and both women stayed focused and determined that something positive was going to happen soon that breaks this case wide open. They just hoped it would be now.  
  
Scully parked the car across the street from the Pub and her and Reyes got out of the car, walked across the street and entered the dingy old bar. Inside it was dark and smoke filled, with a live band playing in the background and a couple big screen TV's that had most of the room's attention.  
  
Scully and Reyes made their way through the hundreds of tables and booth's scattered throughout the place, stepping out of the way of countless customers and scantily clad women carrying the drinks. The back room was closed and that in itself seemed odd, so they made there way up to the bar and tried to get the attention of a very large bearded man who seemed to be the main bartender, "Hey. Hey." Scully yelled until the man turned to face them, "I'm looking for the owner of this place. Is he in?"  
  
"No." was all the man said then turned and began talking to his customers again.  
  
Scully looked at Reyes with a look of annoyance and then back to them bartender, "Hey. Yeah you. I wasn't finished talking. Now, if the owner isn't around who's in charge of this place when he's not around?"  
  
"Look, I don't have to time for this. So if you aren't gonna order anything get the hell out." he gave them both a very nasty look and once again turned away.  
  
Reyes walked up behind the counter and grabbed the man's arm and lifted it high up on his back, then put her hand on his wrist and twisted it enough to make the man wince with pain, "Okay, now let's try this again. Where is the owner?"  
  
"He's not here. I told you that."  
  
"Fine, who's in the back room? Is Alex Krycek back there?" Reyes applied just a little more pressure to the man's wrist as she asked. "He'll kill me if I say anything. He's crazy." the fear on his face helping prove he was scared for his life. Scully walked up to the man and flashed her FBI badge, "Right now you're the least of his concerns. There is a nationwide search for this man and if you're harboring a known criminal your life just got a lot more complicated."  
  
"You don't understand. He's ruthless. I need some kind of deal before I say another word."  
  
"It's just amazing how everyone wants a deal before they talk anymore." Scully said, not hiding her sarcasm or annoyance with how things were going, "Well, what I have also found is this, once people find out you've talked to the FBI do you really think you'll be safe in this place?"  
  
The man looked at Scully and didn't believe her, "You can't do that. There are laws. There has to be." the burly man protested."  
  
"Not a one. We're not charging you with anything. We just wanted to ask you some questions, so we have no reason to hold you. If this makes your life a bit unsettling, well, that's really not our concern." Scully was almost tired of using the same old thing against all these informants, but until she got her son back, they would have to do.  
  
Reyes let the man go and the two women started walking away, wondering how long it would be before the man stopped them.  
  
It was barely two steps this time, "Okay, I just want protection. That's all. Krycek is back there right now. I don't know a lot about what he's doing but the man is dangerous. Everyone knows this. He comes here a couple nights a week; plays a little poker in the back and who knows what else. I've seen him kill two men in the past month so I know he will do the same to me if he knows I talked to you."  
  
"We understand all that. W e can put you in a witness protection program if you help us." Scully tried to calm the man down as best she could, "Now, I will call in and have a car come out to pick you up and take you somewhere safe. We need the key to the back room first. And if you know who else is back there I want there names."  
  
The man handed over the key and wrote down the names of some of Krycek's associates, but none of the names rang a bell with either woman, but they kept the list for future reference.  
  
Scully called the FBI and requested backup and a car to pick up the bartender and they waited at the bar until they showed up.  
  
Backup arrived in less than 10 minutes and they surrounded the place and gave the okay to Scully and Reyes to make their move. With guns drawn they walked up to the back room and Scully knocked on the door, "Krycek, we know your there. We want you to come out with your hands in the air. The place is surrounded so there is no way out."  
  
There was silence for a couple minutes then the door knob began to move and the door began to open. Krycek walked out with his hands above his head and a big smile on his face, "Ladies, what brings you to this part of town?" 


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven.  
  
Scully walked up to him, frisked him and grabbed a .38 special from his jacket and a knife in an ankle holster then sat him down on a chair against the wall, "Listen up. You're in so much trouble and you don't even have a clue. Now, this can go down in so many different ways, but only one will keep you from death row. So, did you want to keep playing games and being a smart ass or do you want to give a shot at cooperating for once?"  
  
"You have nothing on me. You never have and you never will. So do what you gotta do. I'm not saying a thing. My lawyer will have me out before you can fill out your paperwork. Suffice it to say, it has been fun seeing you both again though." Krycek smiled and put his feet up on the table.  
  
Reyes looked at Scully and they nodded for one of the uniformed officers to take Krycek away.  
  
They followed him to the FBI headquarters and met Skinner outside the interrogation room.  
  
Skinner handed Scully the file on Krycek, which was about three inches thick, then leaned against the wall and faced the two women, "So how do you want to play this?"  
  
Scully flipped through the folder, then closed it and handed it to Reyes and looked back at Skinner, "Krycek is unaware that Matheson and the Salionov brother's have turned state's evidence so he thinks he's got all the cards and isn't worried a bit. I don't think he will say a word until he knows some of what he's up against."  
  
"Well, Krycek is all about self preservation so I believe once he feels the walls closing in he is going to want to deal and that's when he should be willing to tell us where William is." Skinner added.  
  
"I agree. Let's just start by mentioning the brothers and save Matheson for later." Scully then motioned towards Reyes and the two women both entered the room with Krycek sitting handcuffed to the chair across from them.  
  
Scully smiled as she sat down and opened up Krycek's file and showed him the pictures of the Salionov brothers, "Here's two of your friends. They had a bit of trouble and got picked up and are actually waiting for transfer. They did finger you as their boss and gave very detailed statements about everything you had them do and many things they saw you do so you are in a lot of hot water."  
  
Krycek's smirk had changed to a look of annoyance and anger in a very short time, "Look, those two are fools. They didn't work for me. I only knew them from other associates. I don't know what you think they can tell you but your not scaring me."  
  
Reyes pulled out parts of the two men's statements and sat it in front of Krycek, "Well, perhaps reading a little of what they are saying might jog your memory a little. This is only a mere sample of what they have been telling us, and they are big on talking. Now, if you tell us where William is we might try and keep you from that very deadly needle bad men like you tend to get."  
  
"Listen, if you want to see your son again Scully you had better release me now. There is nobody watching him at the moment. He's in a chamber to monitor his vitals but if I am not there to check on it every couple hours it will shut off. Now I think you know what that will mean to your son. So, enough games. I will take you to your son, but I am not spending one day in prison. Those are my terms. You don't have long to accept them either." Krycek's trademark smirk returned and he sat back in his chair feeling he had once again got the better of the FBI.  
  
Scully motioned for Reyes to leave the room with her and they closed the door and looked right at Skinner, "We have to do this. If he's with us the whole time he can't escape. We can write up some deal and fill it with loopholes so we can back out. We do it all the time. I can't risk that he's telling the truth about William."  
  
"Calm down Scully." Skinner said, putting his hand on Scully's shoulders, "This man is a compulsive liar. He will do whatever it takes to get an edge and then he will use it against us. I will have hour lawyers draw up some papers and see if he bites. He's a smart guy though. He will want his own lawyer to look them over. If he doesn't bite on a cooked up agreement we will be in a very big bind."  
  
"I know this is a no win situation. I have no choice. He's the only one who can help me find my son. I have to play it his way. We'll be with him the whole time." she added in a somber tone. Just then, a light bulb went off in her head, "Wait! Krycek doesn't know about Matheson right, so can we convict him with Matheson's testimony alone? If so, we can give up the Salionov's testimony in return for helping us out. That might work."  
  
Skinner's eyebrows raised at Scully's suggestion, "Well, I'd have to get our lawyers to look over all his testimony first, but it is possible. It might work. I'll go talk to them, you go tell Krycek were working on his release." and with that Skinner took off down the hall and disappeared around a corner.  
  
Scully and Reyes went back into the room and calmly sat down with Krycek again.  
  
Krycek was trying to read their faces but they weren't showing any emotion at all, "Oh come on, what's it gonna be ladies? You have no choice. I'm the only one with the code to open the chamber. You're not going to let your son die so quit stalling. Time's of the essence. I do not want your son to die either. So let's a move on."  
  
"Hold on." Scully said loudly, "We have our people working on your release. You'll have to give us more than you have for us to let you go. The FBI can't put my wishes ahead of procedure. As much as I want to just let you go, I can't. So we need to know where we are going so we can have people ready to take care of William when we find him."  
  
Krycek threw his head back and smiled out of frustration, "You don't get it. Still. William is part of something much bigger than you realize. Even after so much has happened in front of your eyes you refuse to grasp the scope of all this."  
  
Reyes was not buying everything Krycek was trying to feed them, "Well, why don't you fill us in on this conspiracy. We have a bit time here. We're listening. Start talking."  
  
"Okay, I will. Just enough to clue you in. William was created in part using alien DNA. You know this. You want to deny it because it's easier, but that is not the reality of the situation. Now, since the Roswell debacle there have been 7 species of aliens land on this planet. 4 in the USA, 2 in Moscow and one in the Pacific Ocean. Each of these species had different and very distinct DNA."  
  
"You expect me to believe that 7 different species of aliens have landed on earth? I can almost see keeping one a secret all this time, but 7? Not even the best security in the world could keep a lid on something that big." Reyes questioned, still very skeptical about anything Krycek said.  
  
"You don't have to believe. I can show you. William is being kept at a very high tech lab right here in this city. Alongside William, are 5 species of aliens. The DNA of each one has a completely different affect when mixed with human DNA. Now, we have been trying to find a way to create what you call the super soldiers, not for our own selfish needs, at least not to begin with, but to be ready for an alien invasion. Yes, I know it sounds far fetched, but the fact is these 7 species all lost spacecraft and their own kind here on earth when they were either shot down or crashed. We have reason to believe that at least two of the species have been searching for their lost ships. They are searching with a fleet of ships in tow. We're talking an armada of ships, the likes of which nobody on earth is ready for."  
  
"This is a fascinating tale Krycek, but where's the proof of anything you say?" Scully asked bluntly, "You have a knack for lying, for manipulating. Your word means nothing. Even if all you said is true, it doesn't explain why you took my son, or why he was part of this at all."  
  
"You were part of the whole human testing that my group was doing. You were a random choice. The fact you happen to be in the FBI was not a concern for the group I work with. When the time came to test the alien DNA, we always wanted to test on newborn babies. When we injected you, and the others with the alien DNA, it also caused the women to become sterile, therefore negating much of what we had planned. But, somehow you had a baby in spite of all the odds. This made your son incredibly special and important to us and to others who had even more severe uses for him in mind."  
  
Scully was standing up, unsure of all that she was being told and not sure what to believe anymore, "Alright, William is special because he is the only child to be born with this so called alien DNA mixed with his human DNA?"  
  
"That is correct. That gives us so much more to work with. Every other human that we tested with these different alien DNA's had very different reactions. The younger the person was when they were injected with alien DNA, the more chance they had to survive it. Anyone over 30 that we tried this on died within 5 years. Still, human babies were too weak to try this on and we then agreed that nobody under 6 years of age would be used for this procedure. William is the first and only child born with both human and alien DNA. This means he's a miracle in most every way. He's healthy. His vitals are strong, and he already possesses innate powers that will only get stronger in time."  
  
"Oh my god. Do you even hear yourself? You're talking about people's lives. A young baby. And to you he's nothing more than a guinea pig to test, poke and prod. It's disgusting." Scully shot back at Krycek then turned away from him.  
  
"I understand your reaction and I don't even blame you." Krycek said, sounding for just a moment like he could understand what Scully was feeling, "But, you were not there when we spotted these alien war ships on the prowl, millions of them. Literally. The size of most space shuttles. These are sophisticated ships. If they ever make it to earth nobody is safe, not your son, not you, not me, not anyone. We were trying to find a way to fight them off. No, it wasn't pretty, it wasn't moral, it wasn't ethical or legal. It simply was needed. Every major government in the world is working on this as we speak. The fact is red tape will always slow things down. Even big countries like the US, China, Russia, France or England want the same thing. We are just doing it faster because we don't have to play by any rules."  
  
"That's right. You don't, and tell me something Krycek, why is it that your last bank records showed you had 22 million dollars to your name?" Scully asked with a sneer, "Don't tell me this is for anything more than money."  
  
"What, you think research is cheap? Everything costs money. Even more so when it's done underground. Again, what you also fail to see is our group is not the only one after William. Believe it or not, many of these other groups are more ruthless than us and ONLY want William to sell to the highest bidder. You may not agree with anything we're doing and that's fine, but as hard as it is to believe, we are and will continue to work towards preparing the human race for what could be a very deadly invasion."  
  
Just then, Skinner walked in with a lawyer, who handed Krycek a written statement to sign.  
  
Krycek looked it over then put it back in front of the lawyer, "I need my own lawyer to check this out. It looks good to me, but I can't sign off on it until my lawyer tells me to."  
  
Skinner gave Krycek a look of contempt, "We knew you'd say that. Don't worry, your lawyer is on his way and should be here momentarily."  
  
Krycek smiled and sat back in his chair and waited.  
  
Just as Skinner had said, Krycek's lawyer was ushered into the room in less then minutes. He sat down beside Krycek, looked at the agreement and then whispered something to Krycek who then asked for a pen and signed the paper. Skinner then escorted Krycek to the loading area where a large armor plated van pulled up and opened the side doors and Skinner and Krycek got inside.,  
  
Scully and Reyes followed in their car and with Krycek's directions, they were soon at an old navy shipyard that appeared completely and totally abandoned. The van stopped a couple feet in front of a cement wall. Krycek got out, still handcuffed and in shackles and walked over to the wall and with 6 armed agents all around him pulled out a small device from his jacket pocket and pushed a couple buttons on it and soon the wall opened up barely enough for a large man to walk through.  
  
Skinner led Krycek inside with Scully, Reyes and the heavily armed agents following closely behind. What they all saw was impossible to believe. It was like an underground hospital or research facility. Straight ahead was a very large glass covered storage container that held thousands upon thousands of vials. Each vial was a different size, shape and color. Further ahead were the first actual people working away at the countless mini labs throughout the place.  
  
Krycek called out to one of the people working and told them to cooperate with the agents and they just went back to what they were doing, showing very little surprise at Krycek being escorted through the place in handcuffs. Even further inside were layer after layer of these very large coffin like metal boxes, stacked about 30 stories high with a rough estimate of over 100,000 lining the very long west wall.  
  
Scully was looking around trying to find where her son might be and was getting impatient so she walked up to Krycek and grabbed him by the neck, "Look, it's time you showed us where William is. Take us there now!"  
  
"We're almost there. It's through that door and to the left. There is a large mirror in the middle of the room. It's a two way mirror and if you didn't know it you would walk in and walk out and not see a thing."  
  
"Fine, lead the way." Scully ordered then gave Krycek a push forward.  
  
Krycek stumbled forward but kept on moving and soon was inside the room with the large mirror. He once again took out the device, pushed a couple buttons and the mirror parted in the middle and they all walked inside.  
  
On the far wall was an incubation type chamber and Scully ran towards it with Reyes right behind her and she looked down and for the first time since this whole ordeal had started she was seeing her little boy.  
  
Scully was so happy she was crying and she grabbed Reyes and hugged her tight and they looked down at William who was breathing just fine and smiling up at them with the cutest little grin.  
  
Scully turned and walked right up to Krycek again, "You get him out of there and you do it now."  
  
Krycek gave Scully a less than agreeable look, then let out a sigh, "Well, that's not so easy. You see, William is in need of constant monitoring now. So far, the alien DNA has caused no problems, but if something does happen, no hospital in the world will be able to treat him. We have all the medical knowledge in the world in this place and have been treating problems from alien DNA injections for over 50 years now. He's safer here."  
  
Scully wasn't buying this story, "You know what, I don't believe you. I think William will be just fine, as long as you don't do anything else to him." "He might be okay. That's true. If everything goes like we anticipate his only side effects will be super strength, hearing, sight, brain capacity and many other wonderful things. I don't think you realize what all these powers do to people, even the best people. If not controlled, William will turn into a killing machine and he won't even know it."  
  
"Why are you saying this?" Scully asked in disbelief, "He will have a mother that loves him. Friends that love him. Family that loves him. He will not be raised in some cage as an experiment. I won't let that happen to him."  
  
"That might help. I hope it does. But the fact is, William is the first. We may know how others have reacted in the past but this is different. Everything he goes through needs to be recorded. He needs to be monitored daily. "Krycek added directly, "Whether you like it or not, William may be the only chance we have left."  
  
"You're sick. You know that, sick. Do you even care that he's an innocent child, that you may have ruined his life permanently with all this crap? For what? For some perceived threat that hasn't happened for 50 years? There is no justification for what you did to me and millions of others and now to my son." Scully checked the vitals of William on the monitor and wanted so much just to pick him up and hold him in her arms, but in spite of her dislike for Krycek she couldn't disregard everything he'd just said without getting some medical people to confirm or deny what he was saying.  
  
Skinner turned his cell phone on and called for a medical support team to be sent to this location, then put his phone back in his jacket and walked over to Scully, "Listen, you have your son now. We will find a way for you to take him home, to raise him like a normal healthy boy. You're not alone, okay?"  
  
"Thanks. I know I'm not." Scully said softly and managed a slight smile for Skinner, "I just want to take him home and get him away from this madness. I just wonder if he'll ever be safe."  
  
Monica reached out and put her hand over Scully's and smiled at her then turned and walked towards Krycek, "Why don't you just be a human for once in your life and let her son go?"  
  
Krycek shook his head at Monica's question, "It's out of my hands now. The doctor's take care of him. Scully's the one who has to realize her son can do more good here than with her. Sad it may be, it's also 100% true."  
  
Scully walked up to Krycek before she responded, "You really are a warped individual. He's just a little boy. Find another way to stop the big bad aliens." she walked away in disgust, but quickly turned around for one last comment, "You don't seem to listen to reason do you? You don't seem to be phased by threats. You will not touch my son again. You better get this message to your associates very soon. I don't have to tell you what the consequences are if anything happens to my son. You can look in my eyes and figure it out for yourself. I'm done here. As soon as I get medical clearance for my son I'm taking him home and will give him the life every child deserves."  
  
Krycek was going to respond but thought better of this time. The medical team arrived and did some preliminary tests on William and after about a half hour of non stop evaluations they proclaimed him in perfect health and handed him over to Scully. Her eyes began to tear up as she held her son close to her chest, feeling his little heartbeat against her own and playing with his tiny little fingers as she touched his soft skin for the first time in so very long.  
  
Reyes joined her in playing with William and the two of them walked slowly out of the underground complex, got in the car and drove back to Scully's house.  
  
Skinner took Krycek into custody and informed if of Matheson's testimony that would put him away for a very long time and he was furious.  
  
Krycek turned to Skinner as he was led away, "Scully's child is never going to be safe. We'll hunt him down until we find him and then continue our experiments. There's nothing you can do to stop this."  
  
Skinner just gave him a look of disdain, and then looked at the officers who were escorting him away, "Get him out of here."  
  
Back at Scully's house, Reyes was helping Scully pack and get ready for her relocation. Things were happening very fast and Scully had very little time to enjoy having her son back in her life, but she knew this was the only way to try and keep him safe and give him a relatively normal life.  
  
The phone rang and Scully picked up, "Scully here."  
  
"Hello special agent Scully. This is agent Mary Traverse of the relocation branch of the FBI. We are in the process of creating your new identity and giving you a new life. You will not know where you're going, but we do give you the option of the climate you'd prefer to live in. Do you want somewhere with seasonal weather much like here in DC or would you prefer somewhere that's hot all year round?"  
  
Scully looked over at Monica and remembered her dream of being on a beach with her and that was all she needed to make up her mind, "I think I would want someplace warm all year round. So my little boy can be outside all the time and get a lot of fresh air."  
  
"Alright, that's what we will arrange. One other thing, once you do this you will not be able to contact anyone at the FBI unless you believe your cover has been exposed. No phone calls. No visits. No contact period. Now, is it just you and your little boy or is there anyone special in your life you'd like to have included in this?"  
  
Once again, Scully looked over at Monica playing with William and smiled, "Actually yes there is. Agent Reyes will be joining me."  
  
"Okay then, we'll get to work on this and you will need to be ready by 9 PM tonight. That's when we will move and transport you to your new destination."  
  
"Thank you. We'll be ready." she hung up the phone and strolled over to Monica and put her arm around her waist, "I didn't ask you if you wanted to come with us, but I was hoping you would be part of my new life."  
  
"I can't think of anything I'd rather do than spend my life with you and that adorable little boy of yours. Count me in."  
  
Scully leaned in and gave Reyes a soft kiss, then picked up William and held him in her arms thinking that finally things were going to get back to normal for her.  
  
Deep in the Siberian Desert, 300 feet below the surface a similar, yet much larger medical facility was buzzing with workers, continuing the work of Krycek's group. Two men were standing over a small chamber talking.  
  
"Listen, with Krycek in jail and our lab in DC exposed things are only going to get more tense around here. We have no idea if Krycek will talk, but knowing him he will do anything to save his own skin so we better be ready to move at a moment's notice."  
  
The elderly man was puffing on a cigarette barely listening to what the other man was saying, "Don't tell me what we have to do Follmer. You're part of the reason were in this mess in the first place. Shoddy work you've done. You let that Reyes women figure you out. You did a pathetic job of hiding your identity and you can't find anyone who can be trusted to work for us. You know what, your brother was the smart one in your family and the only reason you're still alive. But, now that he's gone I see no reason to keep you around. Do you?"  
  
Follmer started backing up nervously, "Wait, wait! Don't."  
  
The cigarette smoking man took no mercy on Follmer and put two bullets into his head and he fell to the floor. Three men quickly stormed in, took his body away and cleaned up the blood.  
  
When the excitement was over the cigarette smoking man sat down beside the small chamber and looked inside at a small baby boy, "Hello William, it's better this way. Your mommy doesn't need to know that the baby she has right now is a clone of you. Nope, we all got what we wanted didn't we?" he smiled as he puffed on his cigarette and watched little William sleep.  
  
The End.  
  
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Perhaps a follow up will be in order here. If there's enough interest I will continue on with Scully & Reyes living the good life until something alerts them that William may not be real after all.  
  
Any feedback is welcome at buffyfaith19@yahoo.com 


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